The scoreboard at St. John Arena has seen its final day.
Ohio State removed the 14,000-pound structure, which was installed by the Whiteway Sign Company in 1987, this week. Per Ohio State, the lack of athletic competitions at the venue negated the need for the scoreboard, which had not been fully operational.
Whiteway went out of business in 2014, but Ohio State's electronics team kept the scoreboard operational using spare parts in the years after. Ohio State intends to recycle around 11,000 pounds of material from the scoreboard, but plans to house two corner boards at the Schottenstein Center and Covelli Center for historical purposes.
St. John Arena was the home of Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball for 42 seasons and also previously served as the venue for wrestling, men’s and women’s gymnastics and men’s and women’s volleyball teams. Ohio State’s basketball teams moved to the Schottenstein Center in 1998 while the wrestling, gymnastics and volleyball programs moved to the Covelli Center in 2019.
The men’s basketball Buckeyes returned to St. John Arena for a pair of throwback games in 2018 and 2019, hosting Kent State in a “throwback” game on Nov. 25, 2019 that now appears likely to be the final Ohio State men’s basketball game ever played at St. John. The women’s basketball Buckeyes played their final game at St. John on Dec. 28, 2019 against Purdue.
The arena remains the host site for Ohio State's Skull Session ceremonies on football gamedays and also serves as a sports performance facility. St. John Arena still houses the locker room for the women's hockey team as well as offices for the track and field programs.
You can see more photos of the scoreboard removal on Ohio State’s official athletics website.
