My preference would be for the single row. If they absolutely have to have two rows, put another single row on the LEFT side, one on the right, and have the regular copy in the center.
The board owners can do as they please, but they run the risk of pissing off the membership and seeing their ad revenue actually drop with any more of this sort of 'creativity'. The ads might pay the bills, but only because there are asses on seats that are coming to this site that might buy from the sponsors. Those asses take their Internet viewing somewhere else and hit counters will go down, making this site less attractive to potential sponsors.