Cameron Indoor Stadium has undergone some renovations in hopes of improving the Blue Devils’ already imposing homecourt advanatage, renovations that will change the viewing experience for some Duke students.
Most directly affecting the student body are the changes to the seating configuration. Unlike in recent years, graduate students will now occupy seats at both the north and south ends of the stadium, allowing some of Duke’s most clever fans to disrupt opponents’ free throw shooting and offense all game long.
Seating capacity will change only slightly—25 more graduate students received tickets at this year’s GPSC Campout than last year, but capacity is dependent on Durham County’s fire safety code.
Previously, graduate students were concentrated behind the basket on the south side of Cameron. Spillover graduate students who last year occupied the corner of the undergraduate section will now be seated behind the north basket, where ticketed fans used to sit alongside the Duke University Marching Band.
Though the number of undergraduate students allowed in each game will not change, the Cameron Crazies will have a more contiuguous seating area. Some students, though, might be upset about that unity.
For the last several, bleacher seats behind the scorers’ table were available to students, but this season they will be sold as premium seating for sponsors, alumni and distinguished guests. Buffer zone seats will not be affected, but seats in the center of the section—between the two teams’ benches—will be relocated to the corners of Section 17.
Duke spokesman Jon Jackson wrote in an email that the last row of section 19, which spans the courtside bleachers opposite the undergraduate section, will still be open to students.
A new press row area will also be constructed, giving reporters and students in the first row more space. The new press table will include 90 feet of LED technology.
In addition to seating changes, Cameron received some aesthetic transformations as well. The once bland, grey upper bowl was injected with life in the form of a blue coat of paint over every seat. Power washing of the seats, concrete, railings and tunnels help revive the famed venue.
“Getting the graduate students behind both baskets, while keeping our undergraduate student section courtside, will create even more of a home court advantage for the team,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. “Personally, I love the new look of the stadium and can’t wait to see it full of Cameron Crazies and Duke fans throughout the 2009-10 season.”
The changes will first be on display at the Countdown to Craziness Oct. 16.
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