ASU AD Ray Anderson offers details on Sun Devil Stadium ‘reinvention’
Mar 4, 2015, 10:23 PM | Updated: 10:28 pm
Following Tuesday’s release of new images illustrating the upcoming “reinvention” of Sun Devil Stadium, Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson joined Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM to discuss details surrounding the stadium’s impending face-lift.
“[The renovation] will not be elaborate by any stretch of the imagination,” said Anderson Wednesday. “But it will be very functional, it will be very multi-purpose, it will be very fan-friendly, it will be much more technologically advanced … the fan engagement aspirations that we have will certainly be met at a much higher level.”
Though Anderson revealed that the comprehensive ways in which the upgraded facility could be used is still being meted out, he did indicate that plans are in place for the renovated stadium to serve purposes for not only athletics, but for both academics and the community at-large.
Additionally, Anderson noted that 100 percent of the costs associated with the stadium upgrade will be paid by bonds and donation gifts to Arizona State’s athletic department.
“[The project] is being done by bonds — which are essentially like a mortgage that we have to pay back — and through philanthropy and donor gifts that we have to go out and essentially get people fired up about. In fact, the student fee very specifically is not going toward any of the stadium construction and that was negotiated and understood in advance.
“The students will certainly benefit and some of their fees are helping elsewhere on campus, but very specifically, they are not part of the construction costs.”
While plans for completion of the initial phase of the project are scheduled for August, the renovation as a whole isn’t expected to be finished until advance of the 2017 football season.
“It was nice to come out with renderings that are much more current,” added Anderson. “I wouldn’t say it’s a finished product because we have a lot more additional things to do as we go forward, but [the new rendering] is the most accurate depiction of what our vision is.”
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