When you compare the top ten largest video boards versus the top ten highest program valuations in college sports, something curious emerges: only two schools appear on both lists.

The gap isn’t an accident. It’s a signal about what actually creates value in sports—and it raises a fundamental question every stadium owner should be asking: is bigger always better?

Across college and professional sports, we’re witnessing an unprecedented facility arms race. The push for bigger boards is part of the race. For emerging programs and growth-league franchises, the temptation is clear: invest in visible technology to signal legitimacy and compete for attention.

But the business case behind tech investments deserves scrutiny. What outcomes will the bigger board deliver? Will sponsors pay meaningfully more because their activation appears on a larger board? Will the incremental investment in size help attract additional events to your venue? Sober calculation might lead you to right size your investments.

Still, the pressure to keep pace is real, and the stakes are high. So how do you make sound capital decisions when the market signals say, “go big”? Here are three strategic suggestions:

1. Do Your Own Math, Not Theirs

   Build models anchored in your regional sponsorship pricing, recruiting efforts and realistic attendance projections. The objective isn’t comparative scale—it’s optimized profitability within your operating environment.

2. Budget for the Lifetime, Not the Launch

   Hardware generates short-term attention. Sustained value requires continuous content innovation. Annual operational costs for creative production and technical support often exceed the initial capital expenditure. You need to prepare for the total cost of ownership.

3. Fix first things first

   Be honest about where your business actually needs investment—and whether a facility upgrade is truly the highest-return opportunity, or just the most visible one. A bigger videoboard can’t compensate for fundamental weaknesses in your operation.

The savviest ownership groups don’t compete on amenity scale. They compete on capital efficiency and strategic alignment.

Right-sized technology investments create optionality. The money you don’t spend on video boards, for example, can be saved, or re-invested in a better sound system, or better players. Preserved capital becomes the foundation for competitive advantages that compound over decades.

Ampthink helps venue owners navigate these capital allocation decisions to maximize long-term enterprise value and return on their tech investments.