Glenn Connelly / Photo EditorSan Diego State men’s basketball sophomore forward Tim Shelton has never been a wristband- or headband-wearing guy. He’s always preferred a more humble basketball game attire.
But now that SDSU’s Viejas Arena has a new, state-of-the-art scoreboard 8212; which will make Aztec players more visible than ever &- Shelton has had to rethink some parts of his on-court style.
“Maybe I’ll make sure I shave a little bit more,” Shelton joked.
When the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians’ 10-year, $6.9 million naming rights agreement with SDSU went into effect on July 1, Viejas Arena received a scoreboard makeover. The home of Aztec basketball replaced its $1.2 million octagonal scoreboard with a 26-feet-high-by-15-feet-wide, four-LED video display goliath. The new center-hung scoreboard features the latest Daktronics LED video technology, which provides SDSU fans the ability to see live and recorded video images from any seat in the arena.
“That new scoreboard is phenomenal,” head coach Steve Fisher said. “Our players were standing out there looking at it, mouths open, and I said, “Won’t it look a whole lot better when my picture’s on all four sides?’ And they all said, “Yes, it will.'”
While the Aztecs may have agreed with Fisher then, Shelton had his own ideas for using the new scoreboard last Friday at SDSU’s first practice of the season.
“I’m trying to play video games in here,” he said with a laugh. “It’s really cool, though. It’ll be great for the fans to look at. It makes the gym so much better. With the kind of program we have, it exemplifies it pretty well.”
For the past 12 seasons, Cox Communications paid the university more than $5 million for the naming rights to the arena. But on June 30, that deal expired, giving way to Viejas’ new 10-year agreement. Viejas Arena Director John Kolek told the SDSU Alumni Association that more than 200 signs will need to be changed from Cox to Viejas.
Though the most notable change to the arena this season will undoubtedly be the scoreboard.
“The new center-hung will generate an electric atmosphere in our arena for our fans,” Kolek said in a press release. “This updated technology will be a win-win for fans and sponsors.”
Aztec fans can get their first glimpse of in-game scoreboard action at 7 p.m. on Nov. 3, when SDSU takes on California Baptist in an exhibition match.
