Notre Dame officials on Thursday announced that the school will "undertake a feasibility study to determine whether additions" should be added to Notre Dame Stadium to "make it a hub for other facilities, such as a student center, a media center, and/or a classroom and conference center," according to a front-page piece by Margaret Fosmoe of the SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE. The proposal could "add about 3,000 more seats to the stadium, most in indoor premium seating areas that would be built atop the stadium additions." The stadium opened in '30 and was "expanded to its current size" in '97. An architectural rendering of what an expanded Notre Dame Stadium could look like "shows exterior additions on all four sides." The press box would "move from its current west-side location to the stadium's east side." The rendering "shows the field and bowl of the stadium looking essentially unchanged." Any additions to the stadium "wouldn't affect the view of the large mural that people call 'Touchdown Jesus' on the south face of Hesburgh Library." The feasibility study is "expected to take six to nine months to complete," and estimated costs and other details "won't be known until specific construction plans, if any, are approved" (SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, 5/3). In South Bend, Eric Hansen notes if the university "moves forward after the study concludes, the project could be completed five to six years from now." The most "noticeable football change would be the addition of premium seating that would push the capacity of the stadium from its current 80,795 to an estimated 84,000" (SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, 5/3).
