ASU workers are removing the North end section of seats of Sun Devil Stadium on Wednesday, Jan. 15. (Photo by Mario Mendez)Just two days after the announcement that ASU Athletic Director Ray Anderson and head football coach Todd Graham would both be donating to the Momentum campaign, ASU filed an amended capital-development plan with the Arizona Board of Regents which increased the Sun Devil Stadium renovation project budget to $256 million.
The original budget for renovations was $210 million, but early success in fundraising allowed the project to expand both financially and physically.
Anderson said in a press release that the generosity shown toward the athletics program has allowed for the project to grow.
“The momentum behind what our alumni and supporters are doing for Sun Devil Athletics is truly remarkable,” Anderson said. “It enables us to expand our vision and to deliver a higher level of quality for our student-athletes and our fans. With deep gratitude, we are taking their enthusiasm and using it to reinvest.”
An overall fundraising budget for the project was initially set at $50 million but that goal has since been raised to $85 million to account for the early success. Public funds are not being used for the project.
Despite early success on the fundraising front, Anderson says that those efforts will not slow.
“The more we work through what we need and what we want from both a functional and a fan experience perspective, the more we recognize needs to be done through our fundraising efforts,” he said. “So, we’re accelerating our efforts, if anything.”
Included in this increased budget will be a new student-athletic building to be placed on the north side of the stadium. The new building will provide relief to the Carson Center, which is operating at near capacity.
This new facility will be approximately 84,500 square feet and will provide office and administrative services as well as locker rooms and athletic training areas.
Anderson said the new facility will show student-athletes that their commitment to ASU is "reciprocated not only through our coaches, trainers, and academic support, but also with our facilities.”
The Momentum campaign was announced in January 2014 and construction began in April.
Despite the addition of the new student-athletic building to the project, its completion date is still set for August of 2017.
Work will be completed during each off-season and will include reconstruction to the concourse levels and a new video board and sound system, among other changes.
The ABOR Business and Finance committee, which oversees the University's capital budget, will next meet on Sept. 24 and the entire Board of Regents will convene the following day. Both meetings will take place at NAU.
2014 season in photos
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