Demo set up on concourse gives actual view of court
from nearly 100 different seating locations inside the arena
A sneak-peak virtual reality demonstration at the Bulldog men’s basketball game on Saturday will give Red Wavers a chance to step into the future and see what the Fresno State Save Mart Center court view will be from any seat in the house.
Richard Enns, coordinator of the Save Mart Sales Office, and his staff will conduct the computerized demonstration on the Selland Arena Concourse with a laptop computer and large screen projection throughout the evening.
“The computer renderings are an accurate view of what a person’s view would be from each seating section,” said Enns.
The virtual reality tour has been available on university web site: www.savemartcenter.com and is seen by personal seat license holders when they go in to select their seats at the sales office at 1530 E. Shaw Ave., Suite 109, a block from the campus.
The seat selection process has been under way the past two months with personal seat license purchasers viewing the tour in the office and reviewing wall charts and maps before making their final selection. The office also has two actual chairs that will be used in the new arena so license holders can tryout.
The virtual tour provides an elaborate computer simulation of the interior of the arena bowl, offering precise views from nearly 100 different seating locations inside the arena – from courtside to terrace seating.
The project architect, Sink Combs Dethlefs, produced the computer renderings using actual interior blueprints. Those renderings were then converted into a web presentation by Mark Aydelotte, assistant vice president of university relations at Fresno State.
“The web tour is derived from a much more detailed computer simulation that is available at the Save Mart Center office,” said Enns. “It was originally produced to enable people to get a good idea of what the sightlines are from different parts of the arena as they reserve seats.”
He said this tool has been very helpful to people as they choose their seats in the arena. Since the virtual tour went online Nov. 26, it has received nearly 19,000 “hits” on the university’s web sites from 4,500 visitors.
“I’m pleased we’re now able to provide these views of the Save Mart Center at Saturday’s game as well as on the web,” Enns said.
More than 70 percent of the 11,500 available seat licenses in the new Save Mart Center at Fresno State have already been reserved.
As of today, 8,300 seats have been secured with paid deposits, Enns said.
The Save Mart Center will accommodate approximately 16,000 spectators for Bulldog athletic events, including the 2,000-plus student seats, premium courtside “Arena Builder” seats and 32 luxury suites.
Last semester, Fresno State students overwhelmingly approved a referendum that would fund inclusion of a student recreation center in the west complex adjacent to the Save Mart Center, and provide students with about 2,000 free tickets for future Bulldog basketball games held in the arena. President John D. Welty honored them at the Dec. 23 basketball game.
Additional information about the Save Mart Center seat license program is available at the web sites or by calling (559) 244-2990.
