The Univ. of Washington yesterday "unveiled a website, HuskyStadium.com, devoted" to the $250M renovation of the school's football stadium, according to Bob Condotta of the SEATTLE TIMES. Included in the information released were “prices for 25 luxury suites ($60,000 each), 30 patio suites (seating for six at $15,000 or seating for four at $10,000) and 2,500 seats in the new Club Husky (donations from $1,050 to $1,950).” The school said that “roughly 21,000 of the estimated 70,000 seats in the new stadium will be donor or premium seating (including Tyee Club).” The money from those seats “will cover a substantial portion of the tab for the renovation.” The rest of the seats “will not include an additional fee beyond the ticket price.” UW “plans to raise at least $50 million by the end of the renovation, and says it has $42 million already pledged, with the rest generated by the stadium.” The school “will take out 30-year bonds to pay” the additional $200M. Non-premium ticket prices “will be unveiled this fall,” and UW AD Scott Woodward gave an “estimate of a possible 5 to 15 percent increase.” Woodward: "You're not going to see any exponential increase. It's going to be marginal, at best incremental.” The school is “continuing to seek corporate donors for the stadium, including a $50 million price tag for naming rights to the field” (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/11).
MUCH NEEDED RENOVATION: In Memphis, Kyle Veazey noted the “most eye-popping part” of the Univ. of Mississippi’s announced $150M capital campaign is “the goal to bowl in the north end zone” of the football stadium and “increase capacity to over 70,000.” Veazey wrote, “But that's overlooking a critically important part: the proposed renovations to the current structure that'll come a phase before the proposed expansion. ... Didn't realize how second-rate the concourses -- especially the bathrooms -- are until I sat in the stands to cover some scrimmages. The concourse experience doesn't put off the vibe of a major college football program” (COMMERCIALAPPEAL.com, 8/10).
