An artist’s rendering of proposed stadium improvements at Utah State University’s football stadium.
LOGAN – Plans for some additional east side seats and other renovations at Utah State University’s Maverik Stadium were received last week at the Radio Ranch from offices in the central administration. The proposed renovations and seating expansion appeared in the Fiscal Year 2023 Non-State Funded Capital Development Requests to the Utah Legislature.
USU wants to expand its football stadium (https://t.co/17Ft81fWHB). Much of it has to do with ADA compliance issues with the existing arena, but also calls for more seats.
— Eric Frandsen (@efrandsen) February 24, 2022
Appearing on the Full Court Press program last week on 106.9 The Fan, Director of Athletics John Hartwell said no one in athletics was aware those plans had been released. He added they are outdated.
“We need to fill what we’ve got,” Hartwell declared. “Yes, I absolutely think that from a perception standpoint we need a facility that’s over 30,000 seats, from a national perception standpoint. But we’ve got to do a better job filling up what we’ve got.
“And a lot of that is back on us, we’ve got to balance the whole ticket-pricing thing, being totally aware that a lot of the revenue generation from football for us is from those premium seating areas, the club seats, the suites.”
He said there are plans for changes to areas on the east and south sides of the stadium and that construction should begin following the 2022 football season. He said the initial work will not include additional seating, but work on other priorities.
“Is really going to be more about that southeast corner where the restroom facility is and where that concourse is, or the corridor that gets jammed up, even with moderate crowds, much less with a sold out house,” Hartwell added. “Cutting back into the hillside there, totally redoing those restrooms, putting in some new concession areas.
“So, that’s the immediate thing. We do have some other renditions on the drawing board, but I think they’re a little ways down the line.”
Hartwell said it is important to maintain affordability because a vital part of the Aggies fan base is the Cache Valley family of five or six that USU doesn’t want to price out of attending Aggie football games.
