Soon, it might be just as common to see the best sports replays live within UW-Madison stadiums as it is to see them on ESPN.
If the UW System Board of Regents agrees to UW-Madison's request for additional funds in November, UW-Madison students can expect to experience firsthand replays on brand new scoreboards by fall 2004. The new LED high-resolution video scoreboards are part of a $15 million dollar request for additional maintenance work on the Kohl Center, Camp Randall Stadium and the Shell.
\We've been discussing new scoreboards for four to five years now,"" said Jamie Pollard, deputy athletic director. ""Our old scoreboards have seen better days. The technology is outdated, and we've been waiting for the system to freeze up at one of the football games.""
Pollard noted there were clock issues during the Ohio State game on Saturday, but the incident was blamed on the wind and rain shorting out the scoreboard.
The new scoreboards in the Kohl Center and at Camp Randall will both be identical in terms of equipment, making it easy to control and cheaper to buy. Both of the scoreboards will be controlled from a single control room in the Kohl Center that will be connected to Camp Randall by a direct fiber-optic line.
Besides replays, the new scoreboards will also provide many UW-Madison students with real-life job experience.
""There will be new opportunities for students and faculty at [WHA-TV] to work with broadcasting,"" said Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor for facilities.
Fish also stressed that the $15 million scoreboards are a part of the $85 million remodeling project that has already begun on Camp Randall and the surrounding facilities.
""We want the work (on the stadiums) to be completed all at once. The cost of the scoreboard will be fully paid by advertising revenues. No taxpayer money will be used at all,"" Fish said.
Another $5 million will be relocated to repair a leaking section of Camp Randall and install a new ice sheet at the Shell.
However, the new replay system will only be able to show legitimate plays. Instances such as Jim Sorgi's choking by Ohio State linebacker Robert Reynolds would not be played.
""We're not allowed to show controversial replays,"" stated Pollard.
