Venue News: Majority of Dodger Stadium Renovations Nearly Complete; Structural Problems Force Temporary Closure of Rio Olympic Venue

Compiled by Karen Hogan, Associate Editor, Sports Video Group

The majority of the renovations at Dodger Stadium will be completed by tomorrow for the Freeway Series exhibition against the Angels, team President Stan Kasten said. The Dodgers will have a new clubhouse and there will be new amenities on every level of the stadium.

The team wants to provide improved mobile phone service in the ballpark, but that probably won’t be available until the second homestand of the regular season. Wi-Fi will be upgraded throughout the stadium, but in June…

..Rio de Janeiro city officials have been forced to temporarily close the stadium that will be used for track and field at the 2016 Olympics because of structural problems with its roof. Authorities said Tuesday that the Joao Havelange Stadium, known locally as the Engenhao, isn’t safe to host public events until the problems are fixed. Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes said he decided to close the venue immediately after constructors who have been monitoring the stadium’s roof notified him of the structural problems…

…The University of Mississippi is taking concrete steps toward building a new basketball arena. The state College Board has approved plans for Ole Miss to spend $6 million for architects to design a 10,000-seat venue, a parking garage and other facilities. The arena would replace the 9,061-seat Tad Smith Coliseum, built in 1967. Ole Miss says the current arena is outmoded and worn out. It’s not clear how much a new arena would cost. Chancellor Dan Jones said that’s one issue a design would help settle. In its ongoing $150 million athletic fundraising campaign, the university has projected raising $70 million for the arena…

…Sacramento is in a stronger position to convince the NBA to keep the Kings from moving to Seattle with a deal now in place to build an 18,500-seat arena downtown. Late Tuesday the Sacramento City Council voted 7-2 to approve a deal that contributes $258 million to the $447 million project. The city plans to use money earned from leasing parking garages for events at the arena to help pay the public cost of the new arena on the current site of an aging shopping mall…

…GoVision has constructed and suspended a giant four-sided LED screen directly beneath the iconic, world-record-sized screen that dominates the interior of Cowboys Stadium interior.  The slightly smaller structure will enable fans sitting courtside during next year’s NCAA men’s basketball Final Four to see the video boards, as well as a scoreboard that will be integrated into the top of thevideo on each screen. Fans watching at home will also be able to see GoVision’s giant screens. The modular video wall is comprised of matching 17.8’ x 40.4’ screens paired with twin 15.1’ x 18.6’ screens, all constructed out of state-of-the-art Panasonic Impact 8mm LED panels.  The Panasonic tiles offer excellent image clarity, high resolution, wide viewing angles and exceptional 6000-nit brightness, making them ideal for both indoor and outdoor applications…

…UAA’s new on-campus sports arena will be named the Alaska Airlines Center, the school revealed Thursday when it announced a 10-year, $6.3-million agreement with its long-time corporate sponsor. The deal, which takes effect July 1, includes $1 million to establish a new scholarship endowment for UAA athletes and $5.3 million in sponsorship, much of which will be used to cover travel for the school’s sports teams.

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