aulax1 0 Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 When the 2007 Auburn University football season opens Sept. 1 against Kansas State in Jordan-Hare Stadium, Tiger fans will not only be able to watch replays on a brand-new, high-definition video screen, but they’ll be doing it without the glare of the sun.Auburn University will spend an estimated $3 million on a 1,100-square-foot HD video board that doubles the size of the one watched by fans during the Tigers’ eight home games last season, AU athletics director Jay Jacobs told the Opelika-Auburn News and News 3 on Thursday. Also, the first four home games - Kansas State (Sept. 1), South Florida (Sept. 8), Mississippi State (Sept. 15) and New Mexico State (Sept. 22) - will begin at 6 p.m., unless national television dictates otherwise, Jacobs also said. The new video screen is just the latest addition to the 87,451-seat stadium that prior to the 2006 season saw a $29 million renovation, which repaved the east and west concourses of Jordan-Hare, while refurbishing bathrooms and concession stands. "The renovation has been an unbelievable positive for our customers," Jacobs said. "It won’t generate any additional revenue, but it was something that had to be done." And something also needed to be done about the old, 530-square-foot "JumboTron." At times during this past season, the screen in the south end zone would flicker and the images would fade during gameday broadcasts. And it’s no secret that Auburn fans weren’t happy with the quality of replays they were getting while in the stands. "It’s not going to be the biggest in the league, but it will be one of the best," Jacobs said of the video screen. "It will be one of the first HD video boards in a college facility. We’re excited about that." Jacobs is also excited about the evening kickoffs. For two reasons: "Number 1, we think it’s great for our customers," Jacobs said of the thousands of fans who flock to the Plains every Saturday for an Auburn home game. "The first part of football season in the South, here in the early fall, is that it’s awful hot." Jacobs is hoping the later kickoffs will make attending the games much more comfortable, where fans won’t have to sit in the blazing September sun. "The second part of that is our customers will be in town all day," Jacobs continued. "Which we think will help the people who have restaurants and hotels and bookstores and all of the shops in town. "We think it’s a win-win for both the city of Auburn and Auburn University." The only thing that could throw a wrinkle into the 6 p.m. starts is television broadcasts. But even then, Jacobs thinks it can still work out. Right now, Jacobs said ESPN will broadcast the K-State game, which will begin at 6. And he’s hopeful the network will also pick up the USF game, which will start in the evening either way, he said. As for the next two? "The Mississippi State game might be a Lincoln-Financial or television, but if it’s not, we’re going at 6. Same for New Mexico State." Jacobs also commented on where the university is with the building of the new basketball arena. In June, the Auburn University Board of Trustees will meet to officially approve the budget and the schematic design of the arena. So in the meantime, Jacobs and his staff are continuing to research on exactly what the best plan for the university is. "What we’re spending our time over the next few months doing is looking at it from two perspectives," Jacobs said. "First, how it will impact our student athletes - what is the best facility we can have for our student-athletes? And second, from a business standpoint and a customer-service standpoint, what can we do to impact our customers? "We’ll know in the next three or four months exactly what it is we’ll need from a basketball facility, and we’ll know how much it costs and wether we can get it done or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubie16 1 Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 awesome news on both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lca408 366 Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 I think I just got an adrenaline rush while reading that! Hello HDTV and night games! This coming season just keeps looking better and better! Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwegl 11 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Now, get a talented video production crew to make that thing look good. NO MORE Comcast feeds in house feeds please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbo 0 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 I think its going to be great to have an Hd screen! its about time WDE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GalensGhost 0 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Why does Jacobs keep referring to us as "customers." I'd accept fans, supporters, ticketholders or anything along that line. But customers?? Kind of gives me a queasy feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietfan 233 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Why does Jacobs keep referring to us as "customers." I'd accept fans, supporters, ticketholders or anything along that line. But customers?? Kind of gives me a queasy feeling. Nothing I'm going to lose any sleep over, but I think "patrons" has the best ring to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck 0 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 heres the way I see it .. .when a company refers to people as "customers," it means they are doing whatever they can to make these people happy. Too many sports organizations DON'T treat their loyal fan base as customers, which often degrades the product. If referring to us as customer's keeps Auburn focused on what we want/like as a fan base . .that's ok with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUHansel 0 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 is there a link on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubie16 1 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?pag...ts%21index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUHansel 0 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?pag...ts%21index.html Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubie16 1 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?pag...ts%21index.html Thanks! not a problem. i just can't wait to see it. is it august yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keoson7 28 Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 I hope a real OPERATOR comes with the new TV..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUdad4kicks 0 Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 Why does Jacobs keep referring to us as "customers." I'd accept fans, supporters, ticketholders or anything along that line. But customers?? Kind of gives me a queasy feeling. I agree. I'm not going to stop supporting Auburn because I don't like something they do. The attitude to the fan should be out a mutual respect, not obligation ( to the dollar). This may explain some of the other things that have happened that seem to disregard loyalty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwegl 11 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Real operators...real producers...real directors....really good graphic artist. I'd be happy with at 2 of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthLink02 8 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Who was the one arguing that AU should not have a scoreboard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU! 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Who was the one arguing that AU should not have a scoreboard? I don't remember, but lets not get into that again, that was probably the most retarded rant I've heard in a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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