Question re. Pauley Renovation/b-ball TV Coverage

I have long advocated that students should have priority seating in all rows and sections surrounding the floor. The new Pauley configuration may help, but admin should reevaluate alums having floor level seats. I am a 1971 grad who enjoyed four national championships while at UCLA, so I’m one of those guys that is no longer interested in providing the courtside enthusiasm that I once did when I stood in line outside Pauley to rush to the best seat I could get near the court. I know that the seat licenses paid by long time season ticket holders are financially important to the program, but there should still be an adjustment of priority seat allocation.

Excellent point. The TV cameras need a direct view of the Den.

As mentioned several times on the Stanford game thread, the perspective from Pauley was much more positive than from those who watched on TV. I hope that’s corrected in the remodel.

It is my understanding, that like many other things, the media set up will not change during the renovation. The plans that I’ve seen call for the benches to be moved to what is now the student side (tunnels from the new subterranean locker rooms will end there), however; the plans also indicate that the students and alumni will switch sides, as will the media.

In short, the media section will still face the benches and the alumni will be on the bench-side. There will also be a small media section behind a basket, so it’s possible that more cameras could be placed around Pauley. The reality is that our TV views are likely to remain unchanged.

The good news is that students are given more seating close to the court (one full lower-level side and the complete lower-level behind one basket). The bad new is that it still isn’t enough to make it intimidating. Giving more seats to students is a tough sell for an administration and an era so focused on $$$. It’s the right thing to do, but it leaves a lot of $$$ on the table. Unfortunately that’s what the renovation and current NCAA athletics are about — $$$.

As an alumni in those seats, I wish more could be given to students. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to sit where I do and do my best to cheer on the Bruins and heckle the other team (behind the opponent bench) every game. Wish more were like the few people I sit around. The reality is that the renovation and donation schedule will attract more sedate fans who have the tickets as a business write-offs (and no real interest and knowledge) or older fans who have the means ($$$) but no longer have the fire. Hope I’m wrong.

Sorry for the tome of a post. It’s a topic near to me & has rankled me for some time.

Cameron is an anomaly due to it’s size (really tiny in person) and age.

Name another college basketball arena where the camera doesn’t shoot towards the benches? There might be one or two, but I can’t think of any, and it certainly isn’t the norm. Plus, the AD would have to choose between giving up lucrative courtside seats or the even more lucrative courtside video message (ad) board.

Unless UCLA is going to put the students right behind the benches (Pac-10 would might have a problem with this), I don’t see it happening. But once again, Duke is the odd duck here – most schools don’t do this.