Construction on the Univ. of Houston's new TDECU Stadium is in its final stages, meaning the school finally "has joined the fray" in the "college athletics arms race," according to Jerome Solomon of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. With a $25M basketball practice facility "on tap, acknowledgement of the desperate need for a basketball arena, meeting rooms and locker room projects at the softball field, relatively new football practice fields and other work around the campus, UH athletics is indeed under construction." TDECU Stadium "is the highlight of all the work." UH AD Mack Rhoades said, "It's a big step in the right direction, particularly because it is football. It's not a renovation; it's a brand-new facility. I think overall as an athletic department, we're certainly trending at a pretty fast clip." Solomon noted with the downtown skyline "nestled perfectly beyond the northwest corner of the stadium, it will look good on television." Recruits "will notice." Football coach Tony Levine: "It's a game-changer. It has already made a difference, and it hasn't even opened." The new stadium "will seat 40,000, with a smart design that can easily accommodate a future expansion to 60,000" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/6).
ARAMARK IT DOWN: UH yesterday announced a long-term partnership with Aramark to serve as the exclusive provider of venue management, food, beverage, retail merchandise and facility maintenance services at all of the school's athletic facilities. The school has partnered with Aramark for its campus dining programs since '05. Aramark is teaming with VenuWorks to create an integrated service entity (Aramark).
