TCU officials are "warning fans to expect a few hiccups" when the school's football team plays its home opener against Univ. of Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, according to Stefan Stevenson of the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. Fans are being “cautioned to prepare for a work in progress and a true construction zone.” The $160M renovations “began in November and are scheduled to be complete” before the ’12 season opener. The stadium is “primed to be a cathedral to the game as well as the showpiece for the studied architecture dotting the TCU campus.” But the '11 season “could prove to be a patience-thinning, logistical nightmare for fans and stadium and school personnel alike.” TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini said, “It will be a safe environment, it just won’t be as fancy as it’s supposed to be” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/11).
GIVE A HOOT: Florida Atlantic Univ. recently received $700,000 in naming gifts and corporate sponsorships from Delray Acura and Delray Hyundai for the school's new on-campus stadium. The sponsorship agreement includes stadium-wide advertising, while the gift agreement allows the dealerships to have naming rights to the two club levels, which will be known as the Delray Acura Premier Club and the Delray Hyundai Priority Club. FAU's first home game is scheduled for Oct. 15 (FAU).
NAME GAME: In Dallas, Candace Carlisle reported the Univ. of Texas-Arlington is “hunting for a naming-rights sponsor for its $78 million College Park Center, a deal that could net the university up to $1 million per year.” The school has hired Plano-based CSL Marketing Group to help “identify potential sponsors.” CSL Marketing Group Senior VP/Sales & Marketing Brad Alberts said that the firm is “targeting companies with a strong presence in Arlington or a need to expand their presence in North Texas.” UT-Arlington will “move into the Western Athletic Conference from the Southland Conference for the 2012 season.” Learfield Sports Senior Dir Brad Thomas said that the move to a bigger conference “could be appealing to a brand or company.” Alberts said that Univ. of North Texas' recent stadium naming-rights deal with Apogee “is an encouraging sign that a similar partnership could be struck with UT-Arlington.” Construction on the “7,000-seat basketball and volleyball center is scheduled for completion this year” (DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/9 issue).
IN THE GREEN: In Dallas, Kevin Sherrington wrote the Univ. of North Texas’ new Apogee Stadium, designed by HKS Architects, is a “cozy, honey of a joint.” The ends on each side “bend toward the field, improving sightlines and turning up the sound level.” Sherrington: “Only one quibble: From the pressbox, looking through the winged bleachers on the north end, you can still see Fotus Field across the highway” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/11).
