Alumni and Boilermaker fans in northwestern Indiana will soon be treated to more amenities and easier access to the Ross-Ade Stadium.
Since 1998, HNTB of Kansas City, MO, has been working with Purdue University in Lafayette to devise a strategy for renovating and improving the 75-year old stadium without compromising its historical significance.
The architectural firm completed a master plan for Purdue’s football stadium in 1999, and followed up with a design of the first phase of renovations.
To be completed in 2003, the stadium improvements include a new stadium club, press box, bench seating, suites, outdoor and indoor club seats, restrooms and concessions. The master plan also includes two additional phases of construction.
HNTB lead sports designer Sherie Hultgren said that during its evaluation, the company found more concrete damage in the seating bowl than expected.
“It was pretty dilapidated,” she elaborated. “Parts were falling down. There was a lot of moisture build-up.”
In addition, HNTB confirmed the knowledge that the aging stadium lacked many amenities and basic necessities. At 15 feet, the concourse is too narrow, said Hultgren. Located on a steep site, the facility is difficult to access, and offers little handicap access.
It also became clear that the stadium had outgrown its capacity. “There’s little electric power,” said Hultgren. “Most of the electric power they have comes from generators. They also want to add restrooms, but the current sewage capacity couldn’t handle it.”
The extensive damage and necessary updates meant the project was going to come with a big price tag. In addition to drafting the master plan, part of HNTB’s duties included finding ways to fund the renovation.
Although the Ross-Ade Foundation, as owner of the stadium, will assume the debt for the renovation, HNTB compiled a market study to determine means of raising funds to assist in the repairs.
Results of the study revealed a demand for club seats and suites, according to Hultgren. In fact, the demand for suites was so overwhelming that all the suites have already been sold, even though they won’t be available until 2003.
The fees collected for private suites and club seats could cover the total cost of the estimated $60 million renovation, Hultgren added.
Kenneth Burns, executive vice president and treasurer of Purdue’s Board of Trustees, explained that Phase I of HNTB’s master plan focuses on structural and concrete repairs, enlarging the concourse areas, expanding restrooms and adding concession areas.
Plans to replace the press box, and add private viewing suites and new club seating on the west side of the stadium are included.
Currently workers are tearing down the old press box in preparation for its replacement. As Hultgren explained, a new four-story pavilion will encompass club seats on the lowest level, private suites on the second level, additional suites and indoor club seats on the next level, and a new press box on the top floor.
Other work currently ongoing under Phase I includes doubling the number of restrooms and concessions, adding electrical power capacity, replacing the concrete bench seats, widening the aisles and adding handrails, and adding 1,500 outdoor club seats.
The problem of access is also being addressed in stages. Because the stadium is confined on the east and west by campus streets, accommodation of HNTB’s plans is a little easier.
Last season workers moved the west road, and once football season is completed this year, they will do the same to the east road. As Hultgren said, these will become one-way roads to promote more efficient traffic flow.
But when all’s said and done, not only will the stadium be modernized, it will better reflect its surroundings.
“The current stadium is black steel,” Hultgren said. “We’ll be adding a brick facade that will complement the other buildings on campus. It will just look like it belongs more than it does now.”
Planning Ahead
Ross-Ade Stadium takes its name from two Purdue graduates: inventor-industrialist David E. Ross, who served as president of the board of trustees, and writer-humorist George Ade.
Originally dedicated on Nov. 22, 1924, for 75 years the Ross-Ade Stadium has maintained seating capacity for 67,332. As work progresses during the renovation, the capacity will temporarily decrease to about 62,000.
But, as Hultgren said, it’s quality seating, if not quantity, as club seats and private suites replace standard bench seating.
In addition, HNTB and Purdue hope the slight reduction will create demand for seating, and consequently sell more club seats. Hultgren said that during Phase I, workers are putting in the foundations for an additional 8,000 seats that could be added during Phase II.
“We’re paying for it up front,” she noted. “But it will be worth it later. Everything will be ready; we won’t have to go back in and tear things out. If there’s a demand for more seating, it will be easy to add.”
Burns said completion of those plans depends on demand for football seating, but if the demand continues at its current pace, the new stadium could accommodate up to 80,000 fans.
Hultgren indicated that this type of renovation is common for college stadiums. While many professional teams are seeing their stadiums imploded to make way for state-of-the-art facilities at premier locations with expansive parking and freeway access, Hultgren pointed out that colleges are hampered on location and finances.
“They have to keep their stadiums on campus,” she stated. “And many of them want to save not only on the investment, but they want to preserve some of the tradition and history.
“Because many of these are self-funded,” she continued, “it can be difficult to raise the money for the necessary renovation. It’s hard for colleges to think of building suites – it seems too commercial. But there is a demand for them.
“Most of them are sold to alumni, so in a sense, by providing them with premium seating, the college is giving back to the donors who enable the renovation. Plus, donations to a college are tax-deductible, which they wouldn’t be for a professional stadium. So it makes a very attractive package,” she added.
Hultgren should know. HNTB has been planning stadium renovations for 30 years. Headquartered in Kansas City, HNTB employs approximately 3,000 people in 60 offices nationwide.
Its employees design an array of projects including civil engineering, highways, aviation and urban planning. But about 30 years ago the company renovated Royal Stadium in Arrowhead. It was such a success that HNTB soon found itself the leader in a very specialized niche market in the subsequent boom in sports architecture that resulted.
HNTB has been so successful with stadium renovations, other companies are modeling their plans on HNTB’s prototype.
At a September Revenue Generation for Sports Facilities and Franchises conference in Pittsburgh, PA, HNTB’s director of sports, Mike Handelman, joined Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke to make a presentation to the group.
The session, titled “Squeezing the Most from Stadium Assets: What Every Facility Can Learn from Purdue University,” addressed issues ranging from creating a feasibility determination model to building fan loyalty-based revenue sources to using structural renovations to expand the revenue system.
Watching the Clock – and the Skies
Although some work continues throughout football season, clearly it slows down a great deal. “We don’t completely stop, but obviously there are times when we can’t do anything,” said Hultgren. “It’s a stressful schedule.”
It’s about to get a little more stressful. Work on Phase I is on-target, said Hultgren, but it’s not easy keeping it that way. Because of the September 11th disaster, one Purdue home game had to be rescheduled. The two-week delay shortened the work schedule for HNTB.
“We’re strategizing on a two-week schedule now,” said Hultgren. “The schedule was already tight, but that just made it tighter. Weather will be a very important factor now.” CEG
Lori Lovely
Lori Lovely is an award-winning journalist, editor and author of the children's book Isadora's Dance. She has worked for newspapers, magazines and niche publications, covering a wide-ranging list of topics that includes motor sports, construction, MSW, energy, environmental issues, water, animal rights and issues, history, Native American issues and people, real estate and home decor, farming and more. Her degrees in History taught this dedicated professional to research thoroughly and ask detailed questions in order to winnow interesting facts that convey the essence of the story. As a seasoned writer and compassionate storyteller, she accurately portrays the subject in a manner that entrances the reader.
When she's not working on assignment, Lori is tending to her historic Indiana farm, where she raises alpacas. An inveterate animal lover, this vegetarian enjoys spending time with her animals and working in her garden.
Read more from Lori Lovely here.
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