In Oregon, Nathan Bruttell noted Oregon State on Saturday held the "grand opening of the Terrace at OSU -- a 13,000-square-foot space specializing in the sales of food and beverages all with direct ties to the state of Oregon and OSU." OSU Deputy AD/External Operations Zack Lassiter said that while new additions at most stadiums are "designed to cater exclusively to high-end VIP members," the school "wanted to focus on an experience that every fan could enjoy." The Terrace "combines a 600-seat VIP section with chairback seating, gift-hawking and food brought right to their seats, while up to 1,000 fans at every game can get into the Terrace at no added cost with Orange passes" (Corvallis GAZETTE-TIMES, 9/18).
ANCHORS AWAY! In Nashville, Adam Sparks reported Vanderbilt AD David Williams "wants to accelerate plans" for a new football stadium and is "meeting with university planners and financial officers later this month." Williams said that "plans for a new stadium, or at least a major renovation, are only in the preliminary stages, but the project is now a top priority in the athletic department." He added that an off-campus plan "will be considered, but that's an unlikely scenario." The "last major renovation to Vanderbilt Stadium" was in '81 (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 9/17).
DEMON HUNTERS: DePaul AD Jean Lenti Ponsetto said that the school has "several prospects in the pipeline for naming rights" for its new basketball arena, which is slated to open for the '17-18 basketball season. Lenti Ponsetto: "We’ve met with a number of them and we have several more still to meet with. Ideally I think we’d like to have the process completed this fall and be in a position to make an announcement sometime this fall but that really will depend on how quickly we can get through the process.” She added that the "biggest priority is to search for a company close to the city." Lenti Ponsetto: "One of the main focuses for us is for it to be a Chicago name, an iconic Chicago name. Someone who lives here and appreciates the architecture of Chicago” (DEPAULIAONLINE.com, 9/18).
MIAMI NICE: In Miami, Barry Jackson reported South Florida real estate developer Jeffrey Soffer and his philanthropic family "are the likely lead donor" for the school's $30M indoor football practice facility. UM on Friday "plans to announce the identity of the lead donor," who is contributing about $15M to the effort. The school is "working on generating the necessary remaining financing for the indoor facility," and the school is "making a push to have it completed" by '18. UM football coach Mark Richt, who also is an alum, already has is committed $1M to the project (MIAMI HERALD, 9/18).
