FIU Looks Forward to An Improved Football Stadium
MIAMI — Florida International University ‘s athletic stadium is undergoing a large-scale expansion that will make the Golden Panthers the only team south of Orlando to have a Division-I on-campus football stadium.
In the $31 million first phase of the project, the seating capacity of the new stadium will be increased to approximately 18,000. Construction will include the demolition of 7,500 existing stadium seats, a new upper wrap-around concourse, air-conditioned luxury suites, 1,400 club seats and a 6,500-square-foot club room. Seating will include chairback seats and bench seating, all with backrests for comfort.
Southern Bleacher Company of Graham, Texas, a designer and manufacturer of sports stadiums and entertainment venues, will supply seating for the expansion. Steel erection started in September, and the stadium is expected to be completed in time for the 2008 football season.
“What’s most challenging for us is the design-build process,” says Glenn McNatt, project and sales manager with Southern Bleacher. “Getting all of the requirements of the facility owner to fit in with the time and budget restraints is not easy, but it never is.”
The stadium will also receive new concessions, press box and media areas, expansion of the existing field house, and offices for the head football coach and his staff.
Other aspects of the project include new field lighting, landscaping, video scoreboard, sound system, expansion of existing utility systems, demolition of the running track, and adjacent roadway and entry modifications to accommodate the expansion.
The second phase of construction includes a 100,000-square-foot student support complex, which will bring the stadium’s total seating capacity to 45,000. The $24 million facility will house undergraduate advising, admissions, financial aid and a welcome center, and is slated for completion in 2011.
Odebrecht Construction Inc., an engineering and construction company in Coral Gables, Fla., is the lead general contractor for the project. Rossetti Architects, headquartered in Detroit, is serving as project architect.