It’s okay to start getting excited for the 2015 Auburn football season, especially since Jordan-Hare Stadium will have a large new addition this fall! A new 200-foot scoreboard will be present this year to give Auburn fan the largest video board in college football. The Auburn University Board of Trustees approved a $13.9 million upgrade to the video scoreboard in the south end zone of Jordan-Hare Stadium. The bulk of the budget — 40 percent — will go toward the foundation. The scoreboard itself will cost about $3.5 million.
The renovation will give Jordan-Hare the largest video board in the country, stretching 200-feet wide by 105-feet tall with an LED video screen stretching 190-by-57 feet. Along with the new scoreboard, the project will include new ribbon boards along the upper deck of the stadium and a new sound and public announcement system.
Removal of the existing board and foundation will begin in March, with the new foundation construction running from April to June and the scoreboard installed from June to August. There will not be a functioning scoreboard or sound system in the south end zone for the annual A-Day spring game on April 18.
The decision came partially as the result of a survey of 60 stadium criteria. The results of four of the items — the wirelesses Internet, concession stand prices and options, and the scoreboard and public announcement systems, scored very poorly. The department has worked with Verizon to improve Wi-Fi and cut bottled water prices in half. The board also approved moving forward with a potential upgrade to Jordan-Hare Stadium’s north end zone as part of an effort to enhance amenities for fans and improve areas used by student-athletes and recruits. Potential improvements would include expanded premium seating, a state-of-the-art locker room, recruit lounge and expanded north end zone concourse.
The athletic department has been conducting a feasibility study for the past several months, and the board gave approval to seek an architect and construction manager for the project. The board also approved the selection of 360 Architecture of Kansas City, Mo., and Infinity Architecture of Montgomery as the architect team duo, as well as B.L. Harbert International, Inc. of Birmingham as the construction manager on the project.