Football: Firms Sought For Unt Stadium Design

[NT80]

Football: Firms sought for UNT stadium design

12:21 AM CST on Friday, December 7, 2007

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas is preparing to select an architectural firm to design a new football stadium in what school officials called an initial step in replacing Fouts Field with a new facility adjacent to the Mean Green Athletic Center.

UNT requested firms to submit reports by Wednesday that detail their qualifications to design a new stadium that would initially seat 30-35,000 and could be expanded to 50,000 seats. A university committee that includes athletic department members as well as university personnel is expected to select a firm by late January.

"All this means is that we have the funding to get an architect to look at the initial phases of a new stadium," UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. "This is a three- or four-step process. … This is the initial phase of looking at what would have to be done to the property, what kind of construction methods would be used and determining the true cost of the stadium once the particulars like seating and amenities are determined."

Villarreal would not say exactly how much money the university has raised for a new stadium and said a construction timetable would be contingent the details of the proposals that are submitted.

Villarreal estimated over the summer a new stadium would cost $52 million.

UNT received $1.5 million gift from local businessman Al Goldfield and his wife Shirley late last year to help develop a plan for a new stadium. The gift ranks as the largest in the history of the UNT athletic department.

Building a new stadium has been among the UNT athletic department's long-term goals since Villarreal became the school's athletic director in the spring of 2001.

UNT currently plays at Fouts Field, a 30,500-seat facility that was built in 1952. The school has upgraded the field throughout its history, but has determined it would rather replace Fouts than continue to renovate it.

UNT has turned its attention to building a new stadium over the last few months after completing several smaller projects at the Mean Green Village, a campus dedicated largely to women's athletics.

"The biggest message we need to send today is that for this to become a reality our fans and alumni need to step forward," Villarreal said. "While a stadium will cost a lot of money, the return for the university from a recruiting and image standpoint -- and for the stadium to become the physical entrance to the university -- will be tremendous."

Villarreal said the vast majority of the funding for the project would have to come from private donations.

"We are not ready to cut dirt tomorrow," Villarreal said, "but we are moving quickly."

[UNTflyer]

I'm really worried, folks....

Plumm hasn't posted in 48 hours and he's missing out on all the good stadium talk!

[KingDL1]

I'm really worried, folks....

Plumm hasn't posted in 48 hours and he's missing out on all the good stadium talk!

Or the news was too much for Jim, should we call 911?

[SUMG]

Plummy is fine. I talked to him last night....he had been helping a friend move some cattle. Being around Jimmy, the cattle had to be thinking, "This is the most bull$h!t we've ever been around."

[dallasite21]

I thought they had already done the designs and everything. What was that video that came out a couple of years ago all about? The one that showed the new stadium and presss boxes etc.

[KRAM1]

This is goos news....things continue to go in the right direction for UNT....keep it going guys....

Mark

[KingDL1]

This is goos news...

I don't like watching "Goos News" I feel they can't be trusted.

Edited December 8, 2007 by KingDL1

[Green to the Bone]

I thought they had already done the designs and everything. What was that video that came out a couple of years ago all about? The one that showed the new stadium and presss boxes etc.

That video was kind of a what-if. I believe they are now asking for a design firm to come forward and, if selected, work out the ten zillion details that would let the university actually build it. Also, the real-life architecture could wind up looking different from the video.

[meangreendork]

I thought they had already done the designs and everything. What was that video that came out a couple of years ago all about? The one that showed the new stadium and presss boxes etc.

If that was the selected external appearance, there's still a million and a half other things that need to be designed, both in terms of how the new stadium will look AND the engineering to make it safe and long-lasting.