Venue News: Baltimore Ravens Add freeD Replay, WiFi; Arena Bill To Keep Bucks in Milwaukee

Enhanced replays will be part of the improved game-day experience for Baltimore Ravens fans at M&T Bank Stadium this season, writes the Baltimore Sun. In addition to the freeD replay system, there will be a new WiFi system, metal detectors, and cameras to improve safety and Ravens’ stadium employees are being trained to upgrade interactions with fans, team president Dick Cass announced Wednesday. Cass said the latest round of upgrades will bring the investment in upgrades over the past three years to $40 million…

…Gov. Scott Walker signs into law a bill to finance an arena in downtown Milwaukee, ensuring the Milwaukee Bucks will stay in the city, writes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  The legislation commits $250 million in public money to the team over the next 20 years. The bill Walker will sign was passed by the Senate and Assembly last month on bipartisan votes, leaving only loose ends to resolve at the local level in Milwaukee. So far, the GOP governor has signaled that he’s unlikely to use his partial veto power to carve up the legislation when he signs it. Next up for the team is working out a land sale with Milwaukee County and getting approval for the arena from the Milwaukee Common Council. Bucks officials have said that the remaining pieces could be assembled in time for construction to start in the fall…

…It’s not the full face lift proposed this time two years ago, but the University of Kentucky’s Rupp Arena is in for some upgrades over the next 18 months, writes the Courier-Journal. The Lexington Center Corporation’s board of directors this week approved a $15 million “technology overhaul” that will add a new scoreboard and video board, wireless Internet and improvements to the building’s roof. Most noticeable to Kentucky basketball fans will be ribbon LED boards around Rupp Arena’s upper deck, as well as high-definition video screens in the facility’s four corners. Those enhancements are scheduled for installation between UK games this season…

…The city of Sacramento is now free to sell $280 million in bonds to finance its share of the downtown arena construction cost, writes the Sacramento Business Journal. Critics of the arena lost a lawsuit against the city in July. The plaintiffs will agree today not to appeal in return for the city waiving its right to recover court costs, said city Treasurer Russ Fehr. Those costs were estimated to be about $100,000. Fehr said the city will sell short-term bonds within 10 days. And in September the city will refinance them with long-term bonds.