Colorado State's new $220M football stadium is not finished ahead of the Aug. 26 opener against Oregon State, but CSU AD Joe Parker is "showing no signs of sweating out the final push of a project that has been more than two years in the making," according to Miles Blumhardt of the Ft. Collins COLORADOAN. CSU "received the keys to the stadium June 9." Players also have "recently begun using the finished 9,100-square-foot weight room as well as nutrition and sports medicine areas, recruiting lounge and practice field and coaches are settling into their offices." The most "common construction question has centered on the New Belgium Porch." Parker said that completion is "scheduled for Aug. 1." A special unveiling of a "secretive final piece to cap off the porch will take place Aug. 3, two days before CSU's open house to give fans their first look" at the venue. CSU gave a tour of the facility Tuesday, and inside the "spacious 727,000-square-foot stadium, crews were patching dings, getting walls ready for Rams graphics and running cables that will significantly upgrade everything." Parker said that the east side, which includes the $18.5M Iris & Michael Smith Alumni Center and Collaborative for Student Achievement, are "on a separate timetable" (
Ft. Collins COLORADOAN, 7/19). In Denver, Kyle Frederickson wrote no matter a fan's location in the Populous-designed stadium, including 36,500 seats and 23 private suites, there are "few places without a clear view of the action." In addition to an HD video board on the south end that "stretches 50 feet tall and 84 feet wide, an open air concourse rarely blocks view of the field when fans leave their seats." Parker: “They’ll always feel like they’re embedded in the game experience." The public will "have an opportunity to view the on-campus stadium in person" from 10:30am-3:00pm MT on Aug. 5 as part of CSU’s Community Open House (
DENVER POST, 7/19).
