Greenville High Unveils $465,000 Video Board, Names It for Lawson Family

Greenville High School dedicated a new digital video board at historic Sirrine Stadium during a pregame ceremony, capping a three-year, $465,000 capital campaign and naming the screen the Lawson Family Legacy in honor of lead donor Dr. Jeff Lawson and his family. The board gives the 90-year-old stadium modern in-game messaging and community event capability, and it arrives as the Greenville Raiders open their home season against Fountain Inn.

The Greenville All-Sports Booster Club led the fundraising drive, according to FOX Carolina, working alongside the school for three years to raise the money behind the new digital board. TowneBank was recognized as title sponsor of the board, a role that follows the bank's expansion into Upstate South Carolina after it completed a $476 million acquisition of Raleigh-based Dogwood State Bank on January 12, 2026, according to GlobeNewswire.

David Lominack, TowneBank's South Carolina president, said the project carries personal meaning for him as a Greenville High graduate. TowneBank formed the partnership with Dogwood State Bank as part of its broader investment in the city of Greenville, the station's report notes.

A Lead Gift Rooted in Decades of Family Ties

Dr. Jeff Lawson's gift was described as central to making the project possible, and his family has ties to Greenville High spanning decades. Lawson, a prominent local rheumatologist and art collector, has a long history of philanthropic giving across Greenville sports and arts, according to TOWN Carolina, having also supported the Greenville High Booster Club, Clemson University and the Greenville Symphony Orchestra.

“This stadium has always meant something special to our family, and it's an honor to be part of its future,” Lawson said, per the same account. Dylan Hudson expressed gratitude to the Lawson family, TowneBank and every donor who contributed, adding that the community can be proud of Sirrine Stadium. The capital campaign also drew support from the Timmons family, SH Carter, Inc., the Shaw family, the Howard family, the Pennell family and the Kester family.

Turf and Facilities Upgrades Set the Stage

The video board is only part of a broader improvement effort at Sirrine Stadium. Greenville County Schools funded a new synthetic turf playing surface installed by The Motz Group, which allows for year-round playability and reduces the downtime needed for field recovery, per The Motz Group. The stadium improvement effort has also included repainted concrete and facilities, complementing the new turf and the newly dedicated screen.

That public investment in infrastructure sits alongside the booster club's privately raised dollars for digital modernization, illustrating a hybrid funding model increasingly common for public school athletic facilities. The turf's year-round durability also supports Sirrine's long history as a multi-use venue: the stadium served as home field for the Greenville FC professional soccer team during its 2019 season and has hosted the annual HBCU Classic since 2005, according to the Sirrine Stadium Wikipedia entry.

According to the City of Greenville's official website, the city lists a Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Plan Update among its planning resources.

A 90-Year-Old Stadium With Deep Roots

Sirrine Stadium opened on October 31, 1936, according to the Historical Marker Database. The 15,000-seat venue served as Furman University's home football stadium for 41 seasons between 1936 and 1980, before the university opened Paladin Stadium in 1981.

Furman's ties to the stadium resurfaced this month: in August, the university's football team returned to Sirrine, marking the facility's 90th year and Furman's bicentennial. Greenville Senior High School itself dates to 1888, moved into its current Classical Moderne building in 1938, and completed a major campus-wide modernization in 2007, per the school's Wikipedia entry. The school enrolled 1,645 students for the 2026-2027 academic year with a student-to-teacher ratio of 19 to 1.

Season Opener Delayed by Storms

The video board's debut arrived during Greenville High's home-season opener. The new screen is intended for use during the 2026 season, giving fans and players alike a modern point of reference at a stadium that has anchored Greenville athletics for nine decades.