Cameron gets facelift, seat reconfiguration

Duke has reconfigured the seating at Cameron Indoor Stadium and is giving the arena a facelift with a new press table and fresh paint on the seats in the upper part of the basketball arena.

The school announced the changes Sunday afternoon in a news release. The 5,649 seats in the upper arena have been painted blue, and the brass railings will be refurbished before the start of the 2009-10 season.

Duke’s graduate students now will be located in seats at both the north and south ends of Cameron, which is set to begin its 70th season as the Blue Devils’ home arena. The change was made to place some of Duke’s most energetic fans behind both baskets and give opponents a difficult shooting background in both halves.

Cameron’s total capacity of 9,314 won’t change. Undergraduate student seating will remain the same, and graduate student seating will increase slightly, according to team spokesman Matt Plizga.

Undergraduate students will remain in their traditional lower-arena courtside location behind the media. The new media table was designed to decrease crowding in the first row of the student section and to provide aisles for reporters to get to their seats so they don’t have to climb over the media table.

The new media table also will include 90 feet of LED technology for scoreboard material in the middle and advertising on both ends.

Duke also created premium seating for sponsors, donors, alumni and prominent guests located on padded blue seats directly behind the scorer’s table.

"The fresh new look of the building does not compromise any of the traditional aspects that have long made Cameron Indoor Stadium the pinnacle cathedral for college basketball within our country,” Duke athletic director Kevin White said in a statement released by the school. “Needless to say, given these upgrades, we are all extremely excited about the upcoming season."

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said he loves the new look of the arena.

"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,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have the best fan base in the country, so to be able to enhance the gameday atmosphere is very exciting.”