The south end zone project at Iowa State Univ.'s Jack Trice Stadium "is on schedule" to be completed by the Sept. 5 season opener, and will make the venue an "appropriate entry to a big-time campus with major athletic programs," according to Randy Peterson of the DES MOINES REGISTER. The project also is "on budget," and the stadium is "mostly enclosed now." Capacity "will increase from 56,800 to 61,000," and the "only larger stadiums in the Big 12" will be at Texas and Oklahoma. ISU Senior Associate AD/Facilities, Planning & Management Chris Jorgensen said, "Probably the No. 1 thing we heard from people within our department and from people I see when I'm out and about is that they're shocked at the visual impact when they arrive in Ames." Peterson noted the "huge video board isn't functional yet," but when it is "up and blaring ... you'll not only see a football game, but you'll be in the middle of a high-def rock concert." Of the 3,000 seats in the "prime Sukup End Zone Club -- at $750 a season-ticket pop -- 2,100 have been sold." They will have an "indoor-outdoor experience, their own potties, a restaurant and even access to booze, if they choose." ISU Senior Associate AD/External Affairs Frank Nogel "wasn't sure how many of the 10,000 or so seats in the new double-deck corners have been sold, but he says they're selling well" (DES MOINES REGISTER, 5/16).
