On Friday, the Board of Trustees approved the construction of a new videoboard in Jordan-Hare Stadium, among other actions in their first meeting of 2024.
Meeting in the Taylor Center, which is a part of Auburn University at Montgomery’s campus, the board had a relatively light agenda scheduled.
The videoboard, which will be financed by the university’s athletics department, will “improve the fan experience,” according to the project proposal. LBYD Engineers, a firm based in Birmingham, will lead the project. They have worked on other university projects and conduct annual structural reviews of the stadium.
The new videoboard will replace the current LCD display board at the north end zone. According to a press release from the athletics department, the new videoboard will total 7,238 square feet of screen.
The south end zone videoboard, which plays pre-game advertisements and hype videos, is currently the largest collegiate videoboard in the country. The university described the new construction as allowing for end zone improvements, signaling possible stadium expansion in the future.
Although the board proposal detailed only the new videoboard, the athletics presser mentioned “additional food and beverage offerings" and increasing efficiency in the main concourse level of the stadium. Construction is expected to begin this summer and end in the fall 2025.
The board also voted on the construction of a new dorm for the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center, part of the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment. University documents say the project will expand the capacity of the hands-on learning facility, which is in Andalusia, Alabama.
There are currently two dorms at the center, both built in 1979. The project will be funded through a combination of gifts and forestry college funds, according to the university.
The board also voted on the authority to sell two properties, one on the AUM campus and the other in Talbot County, Georgia. The latter property was gifted to the university in 2016 to the Harbert College of Business. Both sales are determined to benefit the interests of the universities and its strategic planning.
The board's next meeting is set for April 12, likely at The Hotel at Auburn University & Dixon Conference Center.
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Connor Copeland, freshman in English literature, has been with The Plainsman since fall 2023
