New Center-Hung Scoreboard a Vital Upgrade for Thomas & Mack Center

By ALAN SNEL

LVSportsBiz.com

 

MGM Resorts International has been busy cutting gaming partnerships with the NBA, NHL and New York Jets, while Caesars Entertainment has just become the Raiders stadium first founding partner. So while you can expect to see the MGM brands getting exposure on pro basketball and hockey platforms and Caesars will get signage at the new $1.9 billion stadium project, a new center-hung video scoreboard underwritten by Boyd Gaming has been installed at UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center this week.

 

In a market that has emerged as the country’s hottest sports market thanks to impressive new venues such as T-Mobile Arena, the Raiders stadium (opens July 2020) and Las Vegas Ballpark (opens March/April 2019), UNLV has sought to keep up with the Joneses.

 

A vital upgrade to Thomas and Mack Center (which also underwent a $72.5 million renovation) is the new video board. A Boyd Gaming gift to UNLV Athletics of $5 million this year is covering the cost of the new arena scoreboard.

 

“We are always looking to enhance our fan experience and this state-of-the-art videoboard is one way to do that,” UNLV Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois said.  “We are appreciative of Boyd Gaming for the partnership and making this new feature a reality.”

 

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These days, “fan engagement,” is the buzz phrase at arenas, which is why high-tech video boards with big images and big sound are a necessity for sports venues. MGM Resorts International invested in a new center-hung scoreboard for Mandalay Bay Events Center when the new Las Vegas Aces moved in earlier this year. T-Mobile Arena’s center-hung video board gets high grades.

 

Mike Newcomb, Thomas & Mack Center’s executive director, supplied LVSportsBiz.com with the video board photos. That’s 6-foot-11-inch junior forward Cheickna Dembele standing in front of the scoreboard.

 

The new Boyd Gaming scoreboard will not only serve the UNLV basketball games but also be a big addition for Thomas & Mack Center’s two signature multi-day events — the National Finals Rodeo, which arrives next month, and the NBA Summer League, which has all 30 Association clubs coming to the UNLV campus to take a close look at their young players and prospects in mid-July.

 

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