UC Riverside’s Student Recreation Center, or SRC, has added a new scoreboard to its arena and a new golf course simulator room.
The upgrades are aimed at improving the experience of Highlanders at games and enjoying activities at the SRC, said Michael Eason, associate director for facility operations and special events for the recreation department.
The new 50-by-15-foot scoreboard, installed in late September, features an LED screen that allows for videos along with displaying the score, game time, player statistics, and other features. It’s larger and much more sophisticated than the old one, which had been in use since 2009 and basically could only be used for scorekeeping.
“This is more in line with what most athletic Division I arenas are moving towards, especially the schools that are in our conference,” Eason said. “It just gives a little more energy, more pep to the events.”
So far, the women’s volleyball team has played games with the new scoreboard with the basketball teams beginning their seasons soon.
Greg Paules, UCR’s director of athletics, has described improvements to campus athletics facilities like the new scoreboard as a priority for him.
“It will really liven up the experience for fans,” he said.
The SRC also opened its new golf simulator room in October, providing golfers a place to practice their swings in an indoor setting. It features two hitting bays equipped with Trackman golf simulator technology, which Eason described as top of the line. The room is available to all SRC users.
With camera and radar technology, the hitting bays can recreate conditions for about 500 different golf courses, measuring speed, swing, and distance.
“You can see how far you’re hitting the ball and how fast you’re hitting it,” Eason said.
Before opening the room, the SRC had members of the Highlander golf teams test out the bays.
The space was previously one of four racquetball courts, but as participation in that sport has dropped the department looked for another use, Eason said. A golf simulator room was a popular choice based on annual student surveys, he said.
Header image by Fernando Canon
