Stadiums

Back to Facility Manager Contents

Back to Home

by Carl Reed, II

Are we about to enter into an Arms Racein college athletics and football stadiums?If you take a look at the stadium renovationprojects that have been announcedrecently over the past few months, I thinkthe answer is a resounding yes. If you addup the amount of money of the plannedand rumored college football stadium projectsover the past six months, it is nearlya billion dollars.

The main question to be asked is, why?Are the schools spending money to “makemoney?” Are schools spending the moneyto make the fans’ experience enjoyable? Oris it about what one school is doing so wehave to do it better and bigger?The University of Michigan is lookingto spend an estimated $200 million to add79 luxury boxes, 5,000 new seats, a newpress box, concession stands and morerestrooms. Some of their fans are worriedthat the “Big House” will become similarto many of the professional stadiums,according to a Michigan fans’ web site,with luxury suites and focusing on themoney filling the deep pockets.

Michigan State is currently finishing a$61 million renovation of SpartanStadium. The Spartans are adding 24luxury suites, 830 club seats (backs andarmrests) and a new press box. Luxurysuite holders at MSU will spend between$35,000 and $80,000 a year for theirspace. They will have access to privateelevators, air conditioning and heat,catered food and cushioned chairs. Onecomplaint with the renovation of SpartanStadium is that the money being spent willnot be used in the area for your averagefootball fan. The restrooms on the lowerlevel of the stadium will not be touchedbut they are adding new restrooms on theupper level of the stadium, closer to thenew luxury boxes.

The renovations that are taking placeare not a coincidence. After the tax reformact in 1996, the IRS allowed football fansto write off 80 percent of the seat licensefees as a charitable donation to the university.In the 1990s, the focus turned to luxurysuites. After more review by the IRS,it was ruled that the same rules wouldapply to leases on luxury suites. Thisseem to have picked up speed over thepast 10 years or so, as numerous collegestadiums have gone with the seat licensingand added luxury suites.

It was announced on February 3,2005, that the University of California,Berkeley, was finalizing its plans to renovatethe 82-year-old Memorial Stadium.An early estimate of this renovation isabout $180 million. The renovation wouldadd new coaches’ offices, a sports medicinecenter, the Athletic Hall of Fame andnew meeting and dining facilities, to beshared with the business and law schools.They are planning to enhance the gamedayexperience for the fans with the renovations,better restrooms, accessible concessionstands and comfortable seats. The renovation is needed to improve theseismic safety because Memorial Stadiumsits directly over the Hayward Fault.

Just 30 miles away from the UCBerkeley campus sits Stanford Universityand its 83-year-old Stanford Stadium, thelargest privately owned college footballfacility in the United States. It has beenrumored that this stadium will go througha $50-$60 million renovation. It is believedthat the athletic department will actuallyreduce the seating capacity of StanfordStadium from 85,500 to about 60,000seats. This is a first for any major collegefootball stadium to reduce its seating by25,000 seats. Included in the possible renovationwould be the creation of a largeconcourse at the top of the stadium withnew restrooms, concession stands and anew press box. It is believed that Stanfordwill change out all of its bleacher seats forchair back seats, remove the running trackthat circles the field and lower the playingsurface by seven feet to bring the fanscloser to all of the action.

According to Ray Purpur, associateathletic director at Stanford University,“We could start the renovation as early asDecember 2005. Once we receive thefinal approval from our Board of Trustees,we will release our renovation plans andconcept drawings. We feel our fans willbenefit greatly from this renovation. Theywill enjoy a better fan experience and willbe closer to the action.”

The project at Stanford may displacethe football team for one season but thatis yet to be determined. Stanford is lookingat all options that are available to them,even the possibility of constructing a temporaryfootball field and seating to keepthe games on campus while the renovationtakes place.

As more of the older college footballstadiums are renovated, will the fan experiencebe enhanced? Schools are findingthe need to renovate their stadiums forreasons such as life safety issues and fanexperience, but are some renovating tokeep up with what someone else is doing?If that is so, are we about to see a shift incollege athletics and the primary goal ofsporting events for amateurs? Taking alook at the four projects mentioned in thisarticle, the jury is still out. But, RenovatorBeware! Once you announce and beginyour project, there will be someone elsetrying to do it bigger and better.

Carl Reed, II is assistant athletic director, Facilities,Operations and Events at the Arrillaga Family SportsCenter at Stanford University. He may be contacted atcarl.reed@stanford.edu.