Stadium expansion revealed
Arkansas State University revealed plans Thursday to renovate the north end zone of Centennial Bank Stadium with new team facilities and premium outdoor seating options for a yet-to-be-determined cost.
“We have a need to expand our athletics department,” ASU Athletic Director Terry Mohajir said. “It’s not just about football operations. It’s operations to generate revenue for the athletic department. We want to create unique and social experiences that are unlike anywhere else in college football.”
The renovation plans will enhance and modernize some of the university’s aging athletic facilities. Among the amenities will be a new team locker room, a new weight room and rehabilitation area, position meeting rooms, a players’ lounge and academic rooms.
The renovations also will shrink the north end zone bleachers by 600 seats to build a concourse area that will include outdoor loge boxes and terrace seating areas where fans can access their own food and drink concessions. The area will be available only to premium ticket holders, much like the club area and suites that were constructed on the west side of the stadium in 2016.
The project is now in the pricing phase, which could take five to six weeks, according to Mohajir. Once pricing is determined, it
will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval.
Mohajir said the plan will be to set up an annual debt payment program, which will be financed through the Red Wolves Foundation. The foundation’s net assets for the year ending June 30, 2016, were $4,190,964. The west side renovation was paid for with a $5 million gift from 1969 ASU alumnus and bank founder Johnny Allison.
The stadium has been renovated five times since 1991, back when the seating capacity was 16,343 (it now seats 30,964), and a plan to renovate the north end zone was first announced on Sept. 7, 2012. The athletic department, along with former football coach Gus Malzahn, announced a $22 million plan to build a two-level football operations building and a 76,000-square-foot indoor practice facility.
Mohajir was hired two weeks later, and although the indoor practice facility was built, the rest of the renovation plan shifted to the west side of the stadium.
“Those are two facilities that didn’t generate revenue,” Mohajir said. “The others can now help pay for these facilities.”
Mohajir said ASU still has seven years left on its payment schedule for the west
side renovation that totaled $25.9 million, and all the revenue generated in that area will be focused on paying that sum off before it is shifted to the north end zone project.
“[The revenue] will be significant,” Mohajir said. “It will help offset the cost.”
Loge box and terrace seating in the north end zone will be based on availability and Red Wolves Foundation priority point rankings as of January 2018.
Terrace seating will be available in two areas immediately east and west of the end zone. Each area will be surrounded by custom water features. The reserved loge boxes will have four individual seats and come with a reserved tailgate location in a tailgate lot, also part of the construction plan.
Both seating options will have access to premium food options, access to cash bars and private restrooms.
“You have to create areas that are unique experiences,” Mohajir said.
The announcement comes while a $160 million renovation project is underway at Reynolds Razorback Stadium at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, which will add 4,800 seats to its north end zone along with new clubs and loge boxes.
“Anybody can create more seats,” Mohajir said. “It’s about creating more areas to entice new generations of fans.”