McGuirk wish list

To paraphrase Lincoln's famous letter to General Meade after the battle of Gettysburg, this blog is grateful----very grateful---for the the recent renovations made to McGuirk.

As I understand the Athletic Department's plan, they would like to renovate the press box and field turf the Gladchuck Practice field. Both are worthy projects. The practice field would get practice sessions for football team off the mall in front of the stadium when McGuirk is in use by other teams.

However, there are a couple of things about McGuirk that could use attention. As pointed out by a commenter in an earlier blog post, the sound system at McGuirk stinks. One year not too long ago it seemed to make a come back, then was bad again the next year. That would indicate the problem is in the wiring or the electronics not the speakers.

Sports Sounds Inc makes systems for college stadiums.

The other repair that would be nice would be the scoreboard. Or maybe replacing the scoreboard. It was the peak of 1970's technology when installed, but is definitely dated in 2008. Towson is adding a new board. One thing about the new scoreboards is that they produce revenue. I certainly would trade watching commercials for a working video scoreboard. The new lights will allow UMass to do night and evening games. A quality scoreboard would really enhance the night game experience.

Among CAA teams, Delaware is adding a 16 X 40 video scoreboard to Delaware Stadium.

More information on state-of-the art scoreboards from Daktronics, Inc.

UPDATE : A number of BCS teams are installing Hi-def football scoreboards. LSU is installing one for both football and basketball .