Lakota East and West High Schools are undergoing modern changes in their respective gyms. As of early 2025, both schools have partnered with Luxedo Projectors to bring brand-new projection equipment to improve the overall experience in the gymnasiums.
West unveiled their three-part projection system on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at the West vs. East doubleheader basketball game. A pregame video that replaced the traditional player introductions was shown. The projection itself spanned across the court and lasted around four minutes long.
“It definitely made all the students a lot more excited for the game, and the game was a lot louder,” East sophomore Seth Matson told Spark.
West athletic director, Scott Kaufman, decided on a projection system over a video scoreboard due to the cost-effectiveness of installation, video production, and overall visual execution.
“When they had the projector, I was a little bit nervous for the East Varsity [Basketball] team because it was kind of intimidating,” said Matson.
Kaufman enjoys the simple setup of the projectors. He has asked media design teacher, Erik Nett if his students would like to create these pregame shows to keep them unique and original.
“It gives me an opportunity to bring students in [the games] who wouldn’t traditionally be there in a way that they can actually get profiled,” said Kaufman.
East athletic director, Jill Meiring, in collaboration with the East Athletic Boosters, invested in a four-projector arrangement. Compared to West’s setup, East’s projection system is $10,000 more, but it is bigger and brighter, extending five feet from each baseline.
Both athletic directors said that they believe the projection systems positively impacts the viewer and player experience of the games.
“We want our kids to feel special. We want them to feel valued,” Meiring told Spark. “We want them to get hyped up for games.”
The debut game for East’s light show was on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, when East’s varsity boys basketball team faced Sycamore High School in the final home game of the regular season.
With men’s volleyball season starting up, the projector will be in full force. East sophomore and boys’ volleyball player, Nathan Thimme, is thrilled for this new upgrade.
“It could bring in more people to watch games and even make people more excited to join the program,” Thimme told Spark.
Meiring has the intent to regularly upgrade and change the projection videos to keep the pre-game show new and fresh. This would be done with the help of the students in the digital media classes and the East Broadcasting Club.
Both schools intend on utilizing their projections during both boys’ and girls’ volleyball, basketball, and wrestling seasons. Meiring also expressed interest in using the projectors during indoor dances. Meanwhile, Kaufman would like to use it when West hosts the Teacher Back to School Convocation to hype up the staff for the upcoming school year.