Univ. of Utah Associate VP/Facilities Management Mike Perez said that the school "wants to expand Rice-Eccles Stadium to boost capacity by 10,000 seats and create booster areas for Ute football," according to Andrew Adams of the DESERET NEWS. The stadium renovation project also "would likely include additional loge and club seats." The potential expansion is "in a 'conceptual phase' with no timetable for completion." It also "comes with an unanswered question: What happens to neighboring Olympic Cauldron Park if the stadium expands?" Former '02 Salt Lake Games Organizing Committee COO Fraser Bullock said, "We understand that things will change, but we also understand that they’ll incorporate some Olympic elements into this new structure and expansion and we’re thrilled with that." Perez said that the school has "conducted some feasibility analysis on a stadium expansion and the cost could range" from $40-60M. He added that the school is "motivated by a desire to improve the Clark Building, which along with bleachers constitutes the south end of the stadium and is in disrepair" (DESERET NEWS, 8/22).
