In what is the most substantial step Auburn has taken toward a long-awaited upgrade to an outdated north endzone scoreboard at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Auburn Board of Trustees voted Friday in favor of a final approval to construct a new modern videoboard on that end of the field.

The vote passed unanimously.

This final vote gives Auburn the initiation to begin construction on the new board. Auburn intends to have the new videoboard for the 2025 season, according to a February Board of Trustees meeting where the project was granted its original approval. The initial vote passed unanimously.

Dan King, vice president of Auburn’s Property and Facilities Committee, said the current scoreboard installed in 1987 is “truly problematic,” during the February BOT meeting.

Board of Trustee meeting material documents posted last week lay out a $25.7 million budget for the new videoboard. Auburn had previously approved a north endzone upgrade in 2017, but it was never constructed.

The project will be paid for by gifts to the athletics department, according to Board of Trustee documents.

Documents state Auburn will build a “new, modern videoboard to improve the fan experience,” and explicitly mentions the student section which is located in the south endzone and will no longer have to turn all the way around away from the field to see the currently existing videoboard.

The proposed new videoboard will be roughly two-thirds the size of the one currently in the south endzone. The design of this project is meant to accommodate future renovations in the north endzone. Athletic director John Cohen has previously told AL.com about a project in the “dream phase” to add more suites and a mezzanine into the north endzone.

Cohen told AL.com he visited recently constructed projects like the north endzone at Arkansas’ Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium as well as his own previous renovation at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium as a reference point.

But Cohen also said Auburn’s project and Mississippi State’s well be “more different than alike.”

Since the initial approval in February, Auburn has worked with LYBD Engineers of Birmingham — a previously approved contractor — to finish the design for the videoboard.

The soon-to-be-replaced north endzone scoreboard is one of the last remaining antiquated pieces in a quickly evolving Jordan-Hare Stadium. Reactions to the project among fans online have been mixed between excitement for modernization and nostalgia for the piece of Jordan-Hare Stadium history.

It’s not certain how long the total renovation including hypothetical ideas for future projects will take. At this point, Cohen’s proposed ideas for premium seating in the north endzone are nothing more than proposals. They have not yet been discussed officially by the Board of Trustees, which would have to approve any further construction.

Auburn is currently working on renovations to Plainsman Park that were approved by the Board of Trustees before Cohen was hired. The Hall of Fame club premium seating area behind home plate was completed for the 2024 season and the metal beams to frame the eventual first base club were up by the end of the season. That is expected to be ready for the 2025 season.

Cohen has discussed future projects for congestion in Neville Arena as men’s basketball, women’s basketball and volleyball all attempt to share practice time in the space along with hosting gymnastics meets, too. Cohen has also discussed thoughts on how to repurpose the largely vacant Beard-Eaves Coliseum, but nothing to this point has been discussed or planned.

These projects all come at a time of financial instability because of impending revenue sharing called for by the groundbreaking House vs. NCAA case settlement. Ole Miss is pausing renovations for its baseball stadium in direct reference to uncertainty over spending because of the budget reshaping to come.

Auburn has not suggested it is considering pausing or pushing off any projects at this time. And to this point, Ole Miss’ pause is the only major project to go on hold because of coming financial changes. On Thursday, Alabama released details on its $58.6 million proposed renovation and expansion of Coleman Coliseum.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]