Seemed half the kids in Park City of a certain elementary to middle school age, several hundred anyway, swarmed the south side of Dozier Field near the new scoreboard.

The occasion? A ribbon-cutting last Sunday to memorialize the new scoreboard and some key donors in the fundraising drive to purchase the modern screen.

The kids were taking a quick break from Park City Passing League contests, joining Park City High cheerleaders, parents and donors for the cutting.

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A few words from the passing league’s executive director, Jess McCurdy, who QB’d the $200,000 fundraising drive, and then Park City Mountain Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Deirdra Walsh made semi-quick work of the ribbon with oversize scissors borrowed from the National Ability Center.

Walsh was there for the ribbon-cutting, but she would have been there anyway for her son competing in the league.

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Several hundred kids play on teams coached by members of the Park City High School football team on Sundays at Dozier Field during the spring. Their league is not just pass friendly, but pass only. No one blocks, and no one rushes. Everyone in the 5-on-5 flag football matchup is going out to receive or covering receivers — well, other than the quarterback.  

The result is a fast-paced contest with a lot of kids having a lot of fun, and proceeds from the 7-year-old non-profit league helping fund the high school team.

Dozier Field already has long carried the Friday night lights cache during fall football seasons, such is the sometimes fanatic following of prep sports in the ski town.

So the extra dazzle with photos of players, their stats and sure, business logos, that alight on a screen like the major stadiums and arenas sport might be only fitting for a modern Dozier Field.

Donors included Park City Mountain, The Park Record, and the Haloti Ngata Family Foundation as Presenting Dozier Field level partners, which McCurdy said propelled the campaign well beyond the halfway point of its goal.

Pick Axe level partners included Stanley, Nexus Power, Baranof Jewelers, Switchback Sports, Riverhorse/Salt Box/Palomino, Patrick and Jennifer McCloskey, and Wade and Margaret Souza.

The Passing League has practice passing the hat as well for things such as new helmets and other equipment upgrades through events like an annual golf fundraiser, and McCurdy said they make an effort each year to sponsor a cause outside strictly the football team. This can range from giving other teams in the state new gear to supporting coaches having medical hardships.

This year the focus turned to the, um, analogue scoreboard, which had become practically antique.

“Our facilities compared to other facilities in Utah are not quite up to par,” McCurdy said in February. “When you go to all these other high schools, their digital scoreboards — they’re awesome. And so we decided through the help of our athletic director that we wanted to take that on as a project and see if we could raise the money to do it.”

This advanced scoreboard, in play itself for the past couple of months, has features such as video capabilities, instant replay, athlete highlights, sponsor recognition, among other improvements over the old board.

“The Park City Passing League is a 501c3 flag football league that aims to provide a fun environment for youth players to learn more about football and prepare them for future play. Profits help fund state-of-the-art equipment for youth and high school players,” according to parkcitypassingleague.com/

Around 500 kids from fourth through eighth grade participate in games about 50 minutes long. League officials emphasize it’s about fun and learning the game over winning.

That fun, like other forms of football, happens rain or shine through the spring, not so different than skiing in its season.