Michigan Tech To Get High Tech Video Scoreboard At Hockey Arena
HOUGHTON -- Work will begin immediately on a new $615,000 video scoreboard for Michigan Technological University's John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Completion is scheduled for this summer. Michigan Tech's Board of Control today approved the purchase of the scoreboard, funded entirely by donors.
The four-sided Mitsubishi Diamond Vision video board will hang over the center of the ice. Each side is 14 feet wide by 14.5 feet high and includes a 14 by 8 foot video screen. The total weight of the new scoreboard will be more than 12,000 pounds.
"Video boards are the standard in Division I hockey, and we're thrilled to be able to make this enhancement to our fan experience," said Michigan Tech Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret. "We will be able to provide our fans with game replays, highlights and information. Also included in this project are improvements to our video production process, which will help several of our other sports with improved Web streaming capabilities."
Funding for the project came exclusively from private donors. Numerous Michigan Tech alumni and friends made gifts to the project. Significant lead contributions were provided by Ruanne and John Opie '61 of Birmingham, Jolayne and Dan Farrell '60 of Houghton, and Venus and John Rockwell '79 of San Jose, Calif.
Mitsubishi Electric DiamondVision has begun building Tech's custom video board. The Warrendale, Pa.-based company has produced displays for many collegiate and professional facilities including the one at Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Michigan Tech alum Mark Rakoski '95, an executive director at Mitsubishi Electric, was integral in making the video board project a reality.
A production room with video equipment will be installed in the ice arena and changes made to the press box to accommodate the new system. Total Sports Entertainment, based in LaCrosse, Wis., has been contracted to complete that phase of the project.
The video board is the latest in a series of upgrades to the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in recent years. The seats were replaced and the floor was refinished in 2006. The Ruanne and John Opie Suites were constructed in 2009. A new ice plant was installed in 2012.
In other business, the Michigan Tech board:
* Approved a new concentration in business analytics. It will be offered within the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics program. Including advanced statistics, data mining, predictive analysis and business disciplines such as marketing, operations & systems management and management information systems, the concentration will provide a combination of skills and underlying concepts that today's employers seek.
* Approved a resolution to refinance bond issues from 2006 and 2008 at a lower rate of interest, saving costs.
* Approved submission of a grant application to the Michigan Coastal Management Program, part of the state's Department of Environmental Quality.
* Heard a report that the current Generations of Discovery Capital Campaign has reached $195,328,844 as of Feb. 7, 2013. The campaign, which ends this June, has a goal of $200 million.
