I'm getting into the minutia here but I just want to throw out there that if we get a center hung scoreboard the big graphic underneath it that you see when you look up from center court has to be a paw print. No exceptions.
With this, I agree 100%. I'd really like to see the use of the paw more in certain cases. Or the use of both at the same time.
While it would certainly be nice to have better scoreboard(s) in the Convo, does the existing situation cost us any fan support? I very much doubt it. Would we attract more fans if we had a better scoreboard? That's an awfully tough argument to make.
My argument for having a video board is actually based more on recruiting. When someone walks into the Convo for the first time, he/she looks around for such a board and thinks, "Where is it?" When you go to a game and realize how worthless those boards are down low -- and how hard they are to see -- you think, "This is a second-rate arena."
So it is your belief that recruits are brought into the arena from the upper concourse level and that we have people standing in front of the scoreboards to block their view? When a prospective player walks onto the floor, he has four scoreboards right in his line of sight. There's no missing them from floor level. And I very much doubt his decision will be based on his walking up into the upper seating area to see how visible the scoreboard is for the average fan.
Again, I agree that it would be great to have a big-time scoreboard, but an honest cost-benefit analysis would indicate that our floor-level boards aren't costing us fans or recruits.
On another topic, someone complained about people standing in front of the scoreboards. I agree that this can be an issue with the two boards on the north side of the arena. (More administrative people standing around there.) No one stands in front of the south boards, however, so it takes, what, half a second, to look over there?
Unless of course you happen to sit above said south scoreboards, in which case, those standing in front of the north ones are a bit more of a nuisance.
Bottom line for me is that updated scoreboards, placed somewhere besides the current locations, are part of necessary upgrades to the building for ALL of the programs that use the building, and for graduation. I'd be happy with the removal of seats up high behind the baskets, and putting the scoreboards up there - ala the old Cole Fieldhouse.
I think moving the scoreboards up high, in whatever fashion they chose to do so, would allow for a few things to happen that would generate revenue. First, you could argue about the addition of more on court seats behind both baskets. Second, you could argue that the area behind the north basket could be used as a "suite" area if desired. Both could be nice revenue generators.
It could be the "Ohio Bobcat Club" Suite. It could be the first place in the building beer was allowed. And there ya go....another potential revenue generator. (same could be said about the "Sky Box" if it was ever put to a better use.