The Univ. of Colorado athletic department on Monday "celebrated the final steel beam being hoisted and put into place" in the new Champions Center at Folsom Field, according to Kyle Ringo of the Boulder DAILY CAMERA. The new home to the CU athletic department "now dwarfs the old home, the Dal Ward Center, which is also slowly being transformed into something new and different." The entire $181M project is expected to be "complete next January." CU AD Rick George "described Monday as 'a monumental day' because of how important the project is to the competitiveness of the athletic department and its student-athletes and also because of how quickly it has come together." Ringo noted the project "is still nowhere near complete," but it "will be ready for the return of students to campus for fall semester classes in August and the parking garage and indoor practice facility will be complete by next January." The indoor practice facility will include a "full-length football field with an 85-foot high roof to allow for kicking." The athletic department is responsible for $156M "of the total bill with the campus picking up the cost of the 600-space parking garage located immediately east of the stadium beneath the indoor facility" (Boulder DAILY CAMERA, 3/31). In Denver, Tom Kensler noted the project "includes the football center, more space for sports medicine and academics, expanded office space, meeting rooms and lockers for CU's Olympic sports in a redesign of the Dal Ward Center, a high-performance center to also be available for public use, and an indoor practice facility that will include a 100-yard football field and a 300-meter indoor track." CU football coach Mike MacIntyre said that the new facilities "should help recruiting" (DENVER POST, 3/31).
EYE OF THE TIGER: In South Carolina, Brad Senkiw noted the old press box and luxury suites on the south side of Clemson's Memorial Stadium "have been gutted out to make room for a renovation project that will fund many more for Clemson athletics." Clemson AD Dan Radakovich said, "We’ve sold to date about 535 of the 600 club seats. That’s been really positive for us as we move ahead since filling those club seats is a real revenue driver to help with all the projects that we’re doing.” Senkiw noted Clemson’s other current projects "include a baseball building attached to Doug Kingsmore Stadium that’s behind schedule but expected to be completed some time this spring." The "next big project on the docket is the a new football operations building that could begin receiving early approvals this week" (Anderson INDEPENDENT MAIL, 3/31). Radakovich said that 80 of the 89 football suites "already have been leased" at Memorial Stadium (GREENVILLEONLINE.com, 3/31).
MIDNIGHT COWBOY: In Wyoming, Scott Nulph reported Phase II of renovation plans for the Univ. of Wyoming's Arena-Auditorium "are now on hold." UW AD Tom Burman said that it "had become apparent a while ago that what UW was hoping for wouldn't fit" into the $17M budget for the school's basketball venue. Burman: "They came back to us about a month ago and said they were $3.5 million over." Nulph noted UW "has already started working with architects and its facility planning office to redesign Phase II in an attempt to maintain the integrity of the process while taking care of the main priorities." Phase I, which consisted of redesigning the court and seating inside the arena, "was completed last fall" at a cost of $13M. That left $17M for Phase II, "which consists of renovations to the main concourses, restroom and fire suppression, as well as an entrance to the east side of the arena" (WYOMING TRIBUNE-EAGLE, 3/31).
