Plans for new TT Scoreboard 'on hold' until funding can be found

Plus 'no active plans' for redevelopment of Grandstand and Paddock

With costs approaching £1 million, plans to install a new TT Scoreboard have been put 'on hold' until commercial funding can be found.

The Department for Enterprise has confirmed to Manx Radio that the temporary digital screens, which have been in place since the races' return in 2022, will be back in place for this year's event.

Structural issues saw the previous scoreboard, dating back to the 1980s, taken down in 2020.

New plans were drawn up incorporating permanent screens to display a live TV feed and planning permission was secured in 2022, but no word has been heard since.

The department says it 'remains acutely aware of the need to protect heritage of the event and reinstating some level of manual scoreboards is something the Department understands would be welcomed by many.'

However, it says, at a cost approaching £1m for the scoreboard, steelworks and other relevant infrastructure to accommodate a modern replacement, the project remains on hold until such a time when it can be funded appropriately and the Department continues to investigate commercial routes for this.'

'In light of this, the set-up which has been used for the past two years with digital screens will be replicated for the 2024 TT Races.'

Future of the Grandstand and Paddock

Meanwhile, the lack of development of the new TT Scoreboard has called into question the future of the Grandstand, and how much longer the current site will last.

The DfE told Manx Radio: 'In the last five years there have been significant infrastructure upgrades to the Grandstand complex including the welfare facilities, control room, seating areas and other areas of the grandstand and paddock infrastructure.'

'Going forward the building and surrounding site are subject to ongoing investment, maintenance and improvement.

'At this stage, and in light of the broader financial climate, this approach will continue and there are no active plans to consider a larger redevelopment of the area.'