Some long-term sound issues at the Hooper Eblen Center will be addressed thanks to a $2.6 million capital project.
Athletic Director Mark Wilson said the sound system currently in use dates back to prior to his arrival in 2004. The Board of Trustees approved a full design process for the system, which now must be approved by state officials.
“We’ve been discussing it for a number of years now,” Wilson said. “We’ve had consultants that have come in and looked at it, but now just became the time. We’ve had some significant challenges with it over the course of this basketball season, and Dr. (Phil) Oldham just really felt like it was the time for us to make this a priority and finally get it upgraded.”
Wilson said fans have expressed displeasure with the sound for sometime. The system will be fully renovated including new speakers, wiring and electronics.
“We’ve had complaints from fans over the years about not being able to hear when a public address announcer is talking or during commencement about having issues,” Wilson said. “So we’ve had supplement the commencement with additional speakers and additional sound system for good sound at commencement.”
Wilson said good sound is necessary for more than just athletic reasons. For example, a tornado warning issued during a Tech basketball game earlier this year meant sharing emergency information with those in attendance.
“And then the quality of the music at games is important for the entertainment,” Wilson said. “So really overall impacts the positive experience or negative experience as what we have had in recent years with sound in the Hooper Eblen Center. So we’re really looking forward for our fans to have this positive upgrade.”
Wilson said the upgrades are part of the needs to keep Hooper Eblen Center the best facility in the OVC. Wilson said the design will take some time before any upgrades begin.
