Venue News: Cash-Strapped Kentucky To Install New Video Boards

The University of Kentucky plans to install a $6.25 million sound system and video scoreboards in Commonwealth Stadium before the first home football game in September. The proposal has raised questions among some faculty at the cash-strapped university, which hasn’t given raises to most employees for three years, according to a report this week in the Lexington Herald-Leader. UK’s athletics association said it would fund $3.1 million of the upgrade with an internal loan and $3.15 million from private money…

…According to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the key to getting the Vikings stadium bill passed during this legislative session might be the 10% sports-memorabilia tax that is a crucial part of the funding portion of the bill. A study by the state Revenue Department notes that the majority of state-sponsored funding from the bill would come from the proposed tax on sports memorabilia. The tax doesn’t just apply to Vikings merchandise sold in Minnesota. Any item of officially licensed merchandise from any professional sports organization would be subject to the 10% tax…

…Bengals owner Mike Brown does not have many fans in the city of Cincinnati. Most of the reasons are valid (the team has been to the playoffs twice since 1991; the club got a sweetheart deal from Hamilton County to build Paul Brown Stadium, which has turned out to be a terrible deal for the city; and he refuses to increase the size of his scouting department despite less than impressive draft performances), and many fans are fed up with the club. One of the biggest reasons Bengals fans shake their heads at Brown has been his refusal to build an indoor practice facility

…A group of San Diego business leaders got a private update on “various scenarios” for a new Chargers stadium from Mayor Jerry Sanders this week. The executive committee of the San Diego Sports Commission met at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park on Monday. The president of the sports museum, Alan Kidd, escorted U-T reporter Matt Hall out of the building as the group prepared to hear the confidential update from the mayor…

…Two weeks ago, in a follow-up report on Big East game-day alcohol policies, Rutgers said in a phone interview that, at the time, it did not sell alcohol during football games. Likewise, Rutgers’s official stadium policy on alcohol reads “Alcoholic beverages are not permitted in Rutgers Stadium. Any spectator possessing alcohol will be asked to surrender it. Any spectator under the influence of alcohol will be asked to leave the stadium.” However, in a recent report by the New Jersey Star-Ledger, RU Athletic Director Tim Pernetti said that the university is considering beer sales during sporting events.

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