Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp said that school's $450M renovation of Kyle Field will include a new videoboard measuring 47 feet by 163 feet that "will be the largest in college athletics," according to Brent Zwerneman of the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS. The board is "nearly twice the size of the old one." Opponents have "long considered the 12th Man ... as Kyle's most intimidating feature." But Populous Senior Associate Craig Kaufman said that two "new canopies on the stadium's east and west sides will amplify that intimidation." Kaufman added CenturyLink Field "offers a similar setup with canopies." Manhattan-Vaughn Construction Project Dir Greg McClure said the renovation is "on schedule" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 2/19). In Texas, Allen Reed notes Kyle Field "will expand to 106,500-plus seats for next season but settle at 102,500 after construction finishes" in '15. The stadium will be the "largest in Texas, the SEC and thus one of the largest in the world." Sharp said that the $125M needed in private donations "has essentially been raised." Sharp "briefly talked about the funding that has been secured," including the $232M in seat license revenue, $75M in student ticket revenue and fees and $18M in a facilities access agreement (Bryan-College Station EAGLE, 2/19).
