Byrd Stadium Expansion Details Released
We first heard about the expansion of Byrd Stadium back in August and a concurrent naming rights sale to Chevy Chase Bank. We’re now getting word on the specifics of the project from a press release:
Phase I (August 2010 delivery - pictured above):
* Dramatic expansion of Tyser Tower
* Addition of 64 luxury suites featuring indoor and outdoor seating
* Addition of 500 mezzanine-level seats featuring heated and covered seating
* New Presidential Suite with seating for 200
* New work areas for television, radio and print media
* New work areas for coaches and game-day operations staff
* New team store
* Enhanced seating for disabled customers
* Installation of a new state-of-the-art video board above the west end zone.Phase II and beyond (Undetermined delivery):
* Installation of railings on stairways to enhance fan safety and comfort
* Installation of chairback seating in the 200 level of the north side
* New restrooms and concessions on the south side
* Lowering of the playing field to improve sight lines for the first 10 rows
* Painting of roofs along the concourse
* Expansion of the Gossett Team House to improve athletic training and locker room facilities
* Addition of nearly 8,000 seats in the west end zone, bringing capacity to about 60,000.
Click here to view our interactive project map
April 25th, 2007 at 10:34 am
If the stadium is named after Chevy Chase Bank, that’s one more reason to connect it to Chevy Chase with the Purple Line.
April 25th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Looks nice!
April 25th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
This has been in the works for years, and now we’re being told “the first phase will be done in 2010″. C’maaaan!
hurry the hell up already.
April 25th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Who will pay for this? If the answer is the government/university, I’d rather see most of the money spent on improving academic parts of our already great school: labs, libraries, IT, faculty, partnerships, etc. The further UM penetrate the upper eschelon of great academic institutions, the more money we will attract for everything and the more the our quality of life both on campus and in the surrounding community will improve.
April 25th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Campus traffic will be biblical on gameday. How will 45,000+ commuting fans arrive, tailgate and exit?
Will students will need to move their cars from Lot 1 (if it still exists in the future) for every home game?
April 25th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
It would be nice to find uses for the stadium other than the 6 home games a year. Will the improved facilities attract other activites (hopefully)?
April 25th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Hopefully the purple line will go right by the stadium and we won’t have to worry about traffic!
Can’t wait til those extra 8,000 seats go in (and our team is good enough to sell out a 60k stadium all season long).
April 25th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Paul - I think we can be very confident in Debbie Yow’s ability to fund through Athletic Department revenue streams (ie advertising, etc) and alumni giving. Oh, and Ralph’s abilities certainly help as well. I think we are on the verge of something very special in football. We have a great coach and one of the best (if not the best) ADs in the business.
April 25th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Well, since the athletic department is self financing (doesn’t get any money from the state) they obviously think that they can handle these major additions. They expect the high priced box seats to pay for the project’s loan.
April 26th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
David is right on the self financing part, but the expansion will clog the road and parking lots if it is not accompanied by transit improvements. The Purple Line stop will be 5 minutes away from Byrd and should be provide more than enough capacity to offset the increase in seats.
May 17th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
The Purple Line is a sham that will have super low ridership. It is being trumped up by Ben Ross and the Chevy Chase Land Company.
November 1st, 2007 at 5:11 pm
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