Ripley Ford is sponsoring the new score clock at the Northern Lights Palace that will be installed this summer. (Ripley Ford/Facebook)

By Cam Lee

Scoreboard sponsor

Ripley Ford sponsoring new scoreboard at Northern Lights Palace

Jan 27, 2025 | 10:59 AM

The new scoreboard at the Northern Lights Palace hasn’t been installed yet, but it already has a sponsor.

Ripley Ford has signed a 10-year deal to sponsor the new scoreboard at a total cost of $125,000.

Owner Mark Ripley told northeastNOW‘s Ben Tompkins after the announcement at Friday’s Mustangs game that it’s a great way to give back to the community.

“We’re new to the community and we’ve certainly been received well, and we…made our rounds early on when we moved into the community and kind of found out what was needed,” Ripley explained.

(Cam Lee/northeastNOW Staff)

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Ripley purchased Melody Motors from the Madraga family, renaming it Ripley Ford. He said they sat down with Mayor Glenn George and the city soon after arriving to see what could be done.

“It kind of fell together pretty easily for us and it seemed like it made a lot of sense,” Ripley said. “Right time, right place, and we’re super happy and excited to be a part of it.”

The original score clock at the Palace is obsolete and parts are extremely difficult to find. The new clock has been received, but was unable to be installed in time for the season and the city has said there wasn’t sufficient time to install it during hockey season.

Ripley said he grew up in a small town on the east coast and knows what the local arena means for the community. He said rinks are the backbone of a community and drive a lot of revenue for it as well.

“We’re going to support the Mustangs like the Madragas did when they owned Melody, and now it’s Ripley but it’s the same people, the same service, and it just made sense for us to be involved with it.”

Ripley said Melfort is a hub in the northeast and that is one of the reasons he decided to come here. He added the Palace is a great facility and they are excited to be a part of it.

“It’s not about putting our name up on it, it’s actually just that it’s for the community. It’s for the right reasons, and like I said, it checked a lot of boxes for us so (we’re) excited to be a part of it, and Melfort’s been good to us in the short period of time we’ve been here.”

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with files from Ben Tompkins