The Univ. of Iowa yesterday filed paperwork with its Board of Regents "seeking approval" for a nearly $90M renovation of the north end zone in Kinnick Stadium, according to Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids GAZETTE. The project is "now on the docket for next week’s Regents meeting." UI has "pledged to raise" $100M for the $89.9M budget. The project "would replace the north end zone seating, which hasn’t been renovated" since the early '80s. It is an area that has "drawn complaints from some fans on how cramped and uncomfortable it is." The school "plans to replace the general-admission area with 'upper and lower general admission seating bowls, two general admission concourses and a premium club level.'" UI will be "using money from the Big Ten TV deal to finance the north end zone." Construction will be "ongoing for 'several years' with some work happening" before the '17 football season. The current north end zone "won’t be razed" until after the '17 season. Lower and upper bowl general admission seating is "planned to be complete" before the '18 season. All construction is "to be complete" before '19. The seating breakdown would be 8,516 "general admission seating in lower and upper seating bowls, 1,570 outdoor club seats at the club level with premium amenities and 148 seats in loge and premium patio space for a total of 10,234 seats" (Cedar Rapids GAZETTE, 10/12). In Des Moines, Chad Leistikow notes the new club level "could also be used for 'non-game-day uses.'” This would be the "first multi-tiered portion of Kinnick Stadium." Renderings show that the lower level "would provide standard seating, while the upper level would have seating plus 'open decks at the east and west ends with views to the field and places where fans can congregate'” (DES MOINES REGISTER, 10/12).
STAMP OF APPROVAL: In Indiana, Michael Reschke noted the Indiana Univ. BOT on Friday "approved a design plan that will fill in the south end zone of Memorial Stadium with a two-story and nearly 100,000-square-foot addition." Indianapolis-based RATIO Architects, the same firm that designed the stadium's north end zone addition, "provided architect's renderings that showed a limestone entryway and grass in place of the existing pavement just south and west of the stadium" (Bloomington HERALD-TIMES, 10/8). In Indianapolis, Andy Wittry noted the enclosure "will add 66,575 square feet of space to the south end of the stadium." Construction "begins after the conclusion of this season." IU AD Fred Glass said that he "expects the project to be completed in time" for the '18 season. Other renovations include an "addition to house student-athlete services, including rehabilitation and treatment, wellness and leadership and life skills." A dining facility and event suite "will be added, as well as various accessibility upgrades" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/11).
END ZONE DANCE: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Don Muret notes colleges "are targeting end zones" for the next wave of facilities renovations, with an "eye on attracting young potential season-ticket holders and donors." Sports designers working on these end zone projects said that it is the "next logical step for improving college stadiums after building suite towers and club lounges along the sidelines." Companies such as Legends "see another trend" as the seats "come with required donations to the alumni groups that help pay for stadium renovations, and the seats are drawing buyers who are also first-time donors, strengthening that financial lifeline." Location "dictates that premium seats in the end zones are priced lower than suites and club seats along the sidelines." As a result, schools are "targeting their pitches toward younger alumni, who generally have less money to spend than their older counterparts, as a way to move them into premium seating and onto the list of annual donors" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/10 issue).
