Last October, when Centerville High School hosted Wayne in a football game televised by ESPNU, the network asked for more lighting at Centerville Stadium.

Musco Sports Lighting set up mobile units on game day to provide the extra juice. After seeing the results, the Elks wanted to permanently upgrade their lighting. As with many athletic-related projects, the booster club got involved.

“There was a $50,000 anonymous donation if we could match it,” said Clara Osterhage, the Centerville booster club president. “If we didn’t match it, we wouldn’t get it.”

The donation was matched, and the $50,000 check from the booster club was one of hundreds of payouts that parent-driven, volunteer organizations made to area high school athletics last year. As school districts more closely watch expenditures in difficult economic times, booster clubs have increased fundraising efforts to keep area athletes up to date with equipment and niceties.

Booster club members work concessions stands, sell advertisements in athletic programs and try numerous other ideas for gaining funds they hope will help their children and other athletes enjoy the sports experience and find success.

Last year, for instance, the Beavercreek Booster Club reported on tax documents expenses of $108,408 to support high school athletics.

In Lebanon, boosters expenses were $162,838.

In Miamisburg, the Viking Booster Association reported spending $26,301 in 2009-10 to “provide uniforms and other sports related equipment and supplies.”

The clubs often are in daily contact with schools’ athletic directors fielding requests. Many, like Beavercreek boosters president Ken Barr, have been involved for generations. Barr’s family has held Beavers football season tickets since 1970, and his parents were involved in the booster club.

The biggest change, he said, is the increase in niceties for high school teams. That includes banquets, stadium or field updates, uniforms and equipment. Much of that non-necessity spending comes from booster clubs.

“If you want to keep a program competitive and viable, the money won’t always come from school system,” Barr said. “Too many people are out there saying, ‘Take it from sports, take it from sports.’

“If (booster clubs are) not actually out there providing the sports with additional nice things, it’s just not gonna happen.”

Raising the funds

Most high school athletic departments depend heavily — if not totally — on gate receipts to fund their programs. Of that money, usually between 40 and 60 percent comes from attendance at home football games.

Much of the remainder of athletic spending comes from what booster club members can raise. Pam Gayhart, president of the Fairborn boosters, started working in soccer game concessions stands, which didn’t seem so tough.

“Then I did my first Friday night football game,” she said. “Wow, what a difference.”

The Fairborn booster club can earn as much as $6,000 from a Friday night home game, the product of hot dogs, nachos and soft drinks.

Concessions work is a well-known fundraising method, but there are other ways to bring in cash. Many clubs produce sports programs, and the advertising in those products goes into the booster coffers. Some do raffles or specific fundraising events, such as silent auctions or cookouts. Many booster clubs establish funds for each sport, so the money raised by that sport’s parents is separate for its requests. Bigger projects, such as scoreboards or stadium lights, are funded across all sports.

Some feel athletic spending could come under greater scrutiny as voters face more school levies. Boosters are prepared for more funding requests.

“If levies fail,” Barr said, “booster clubs probably have to step in more.”

Some parents and volunteers take on significant responsibilities. At Carroll, Darlene Geswein started concessions work in 1994, when her oldest son was a freshman. She has volunteered since, taking over concessions management that involves ordering, stocking and acquiring workers.

Geswein is one of several longtime volunteers at Carroll, whose booster group supports projects throughout the school, not just athletics.

“We’re very fortunate to have a core group,” Geswein said. “It kind of keeps you going, meeting new people, helping the kids and giving back.”

Spending wisely

While advertising for new members, booster clubs often list projects they helped fund.

In the Miami Valley, a brief list across districts includes: pole vault landing pit, washing machine, Zamboni machine, scholarships, speaker and public-address systems, team trips, uniforms and other specialized equipment. Much of the booster club assistance is nonfinancial. At Xenia, for instance, as the Buccaneers worked to refurbish the football stadium’s home bleachers, they asked for booster club volunteers to make up the painting work force.

“You’d have a very hard time making it without them,” Xenia Athletic Director Kevin Kerr said. “Without them, concession stands don’t run, a lot of other stuff doesn’t get done. They provide a lot of the volunteer labor.”

Booster club parents often are involved for as long as they have children participating in sports. That provides the motivation, officials said, to make the experience as enjoyable as possible.

“Athletics is absolutely secondary to academics,” Centerville’s Osterhage said. “But we have about one-half of the student population involved in athletics, so it’s another way to help their experience.”