CSU to Begin Construction of New Stadium

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Colorado State University in Fort Collins is set to begin construction on a new stadium situated in the heart of campus. Scheduled for completion in time for the 2017 season, the $220 million project will start foundation and on-site utility work as early as October. Kansas City, Mo.-headquartered Populous is working as the architect on the project.

The 50 percent construction documents were issued July 15, and the contractor is currently pricing them, reported Coloradoan. Several details, however, are still under consideration, including a proposed party deck that would accommodate standing-room spectators at the north end of the stadium. Details on the size of the video scoreboard and an $18.5 million academic, advising and alumni center (which would be financed separately from the stadium bond) are also being considered.

The former Plant Environmental Research Center was already demolished to make way for the 644,000-square-foot stadium and an 82,000-square-foot alumni and academic facility, which will be built within the stadium. The new stadium will seat 36,000 fans with additional standing room-only space that will give it a total capacity of about 41,000. The alumni and academic space will feature the alumni center as well as classroom and study space.

The new facility will be located on the southwest side of the university’s main campus. It will replace the aging Hughes Stadium, which opened in 1968, and bring CSU’s football games back to the campus. Hughes Stadium will need more than $30 million in repairs over the next decade if the school continues to use it, and it is located approximately three miles west of the main campus.

Loyal season ticket holders and donors will get first-choice seating as part of a reseating plan for the new facility. Ram Points will be used to determine the order in which fans who purchase season tickets will be able to select seats at the new stadium. The points system has been in place since 2009 and rewards those who purchase tickets or donate money to the athletic department or the university’s academic programs with points. CSU has sold roughly 7,800 season tickets for 2015, up from the final total of 6,710 for 2014, reported The Denver Post.