The experience of a Badger football game in Camp Randall Stadium has been enhanced by $107.9 million in renovations-renovations toward which fans gave almost unanimous approval.
\Definitely worth it. Definitely worth the money spent,"" said UW-Madison sophomore Abby Denis.
The football game Saturday against Central Florida offered the first opportunity for thousands of UW-Madison students, alumni and spectators to see the latest additions to the stadium structure, the most noticeable being the 170 foot by 50 foot scoreboard positioned over the student section. The screens create the biggest video scoreboard at a college football stadium in the country.
""As television watchers, we like to be able to see a great play happen again in a sporting event,"" said Director of Athletic Communications Justin Doherty. ""The scoreboard is obviously a big thing for people.""
Other additions include club seats, suites, press boxes and sound and lighting improvements. The original horseshoe shape of the stadium is now fully enclosed, creating a more vertical structure that holds in spectator noise.
""I've heard lots of people say the cheering was louder,"" Doherty said.
These improvements mark the end of the second of three phases in a massive improvement project to be completed in fall 2005.
""Anytime you open new facilities and you are trying to run things for the first time there are going to be things that need to be tweaked over time,"" Associate Athletic Director Steve Malchow said. ""But to those of us who have been at Wisconsin a long time, I think the whole facility already feels different.""
The students in attendance noted the changes very positively as well.
""The sound system was much better,"" Denis said. ""You could actually understand what the refs were saying,""
UW-Madison sophomore Josh Mattson noted the advertisements on the new scoreboard should generate added revenue for the school, and considers all the enhancements to be ""really professional-more like a professional football stadium.""
Some students, however, fear the addition of big-screen replays may add time to the game as well as increase negative fan reaction to disputed plays.
""Fans aren't always happy with calls, and the contesting takes so much longer,"" Travis Suss, UW-Madison sophomore, said.
Still, Malchow and Doherty noted resounding approval of the external additions.
""We've had a lot of positive compliments, and those who didn't compliment were just in awe,"" Malchow said.
