The Texas Tech athletic department plans to expand Jones AT&T Stadium's seating capacity by 2010 by constructing club seats and suites at a projected cost of $25 million.
Steve Uryasz, the senior associate director of athletics, said beginning after the present football season, construction will begin to renovate the eastern side of the stadium with a Spanish Renaissance façade similar to the west side of the stadium and will feature 550 club seats, 22 suites with 20 seats each and four double seats with 40 seats respectively.
Uryasz said the single suites will cost Tech fans $30,000 a season plus the purchase of 20 season tickets for the seats in the suite, and double suites will cost twice as much. Club seats will cost more than general admission seats.
All of the future club seats and suites have been sold already.
"This will help us move our program along by making our stadium a first-class stadium," he said. "All around the country, colleges build club seats and suites in hopes they raise revenue for other projects."
Uryasz said the funding generated by the new seats could jumpstart the construction of new student section and general admission seats.
"Ultimately, we want to fill the area behind the north end zone with seats and increase our stadium's capacity to 65,000-plus seats," he said. "We want to give all students every opportunity to get into the football games. Our student base is invaluable as demonstrated last Saturday."
Construction will last through the 2009 football season, Uryasz said, and is expected to be completed by 2010.
"The construction will impact some parking on the east side of the stadium, but how much we don't know yet," he said.
In addition to funding seats, Uryasz said, the club seats and suites will be able to fully fund several full-ride scholarships for student-athletes.
According to the Institutional Development Office, which is overseeing the funding for the stadium's east side development, the $25 million needed for the construction almost has been raised.
About $5 million has been raised since the stadium's funding campaign was announced Aug. 7, according a Tech news release. The $5 million combined with private gifts has brought the total of raised funds to approximately $24 million.
"The response to this fundraising effort has been tremendous and we are thankful to all our generous donors," Tech Chancellor Kent Hance said in the news release. "We are close to reaching our goal and need all those who have been planning to give to make that donation today so we can finish the campaign and start construction as soon as football season ends."
Tech supporters can help the Tech Athletic Department attain the remaining funds needed by visiting the Web site, www.give2tech.com.
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