Revenues from the Univ. of Washington's renovated Husky Stadium "should help the UW athletic department keep up with rivals in the ever-ballooning budgets of major college football programs," according to Adam Jude of the SEATTLE TIMES. UW AD Scott Woodward said, "Football is 85 percent of our revenue and obviously this football stadium is the goose laying the golden egg." The athletic department is "projected to generate" $95.6M in revenues for '13-14. The two-story 83,000-square-foot football operations center, built as part of the west end of the stadium, should "also help with the all-important goal of attracting the attention of high-profile recruits." Woodward said, "You wanted the old tradition of Husky Stadium, but you wanted it in a modern facility. And that's a hard thing to do, but I think the contractors and the architects and developers delivered just that." He added that the north-side roof and upper-deck bleachers are "all that remains of the old stadium, but they did get a face-lift with new paint and new speakers." But Jude noted what remains after the $280M renovation is "what has made it one of the most iconic venues in college sports since it was built for $600,000 in 1920: the views of Lake Washington and the Cascade and Olympic mountains" (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/25).
COUGAR TOWN: In Seattle, Bud Withers noted under construction at the west end of Washington State Univ.'s Martin Stadium is a $61M "edifice that gathers all WSU football functions under one umbrella and brings those elements into the 21st century." The building is "being backed by 30-year bonds and paid for with the proceeds of the league's fully-shared TV contracts that took effect" in '12-13. WSU AD Bill Moos said, "We were way, way behind at a critical juncture. When we expanded the Pac-12, people were building like crazy, and we had to get ourselves in the game." Withers noted WSU last year unveiled its "new south-side complex, including luxury suites, club and loge boxes and a new press box." The fact that structure went up first "isn't typical of Moos' playbook." Moos: "The ideal plan would have been to build the football-operations building first. My philosophy has always been, build the facilities that are going to attract and benefit the student-athlete." Meanwhile, there will be "some inconveniences" in '13. Moos said, "This is going to be a construction zone this fall" (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/25). In Spokane, Christian Caple noted WSU also announced that a new scoreboard "more than double the size of the old one will be added in the east end of Martin Stadium before the Sept. 14 opener against Southern Utah." Additionally, an LED ribbon board "is being constructed on the facade of the stadium's premium seating structure" (Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, 8/24).
