A great day for Prairie View: School unveils $60 million plan that includes new football stadium
When Henry Frazier III interviewed for the Prairie View A&M coaching job in 2003, he was given an artist’s rendering of the school’s vision for a football stadium. Seven years later, the picture — and the future landscape of Prairie View A&M athletics — has changed. School officials unveiled an ambitious $60 million first phase Friday to build a football stadium and an athletic department center and upgrade its basketball facility.
“I’ve always said this was the last piece of the puzzle,” Frazier said. “This was one of the selling points when I took the job. It’s been talked about since I arrived on campus. I’m excited to see it start to take shape.”
The football stadium, which would be built south of Blackshear Stadium, is expected to cost about $34 million. The stadium would have a seating capacity of 15,000 and be expandable to 30,000, a FieldTurf playing surface, club seating, 12 luxury suites and enhanced tailgating and parking areas. The proposed athletic department center would be built on the stadium’s north side.
The 74,000-square foot facility would include a weight room, lockers and dressing rooms, an academic enhancement and tutoring area, team position meeting rooms, administrative offices and a memorabilia area featuring the Prairie View Sports Hall of Fame. (READ MORE, CLICK TITLE ABOVE)
Prairie View A&M Sports Complex/Football Stadium Presentation
It wasn't that long ago that Prairie View A&M debated whether to continue providing socks and jockstraps for its football players. Now, the school has had budget discussions about championship rings and plans to build a football stadium and athletic facilities that should meet the need of its athletes for decades.
Friday, school officials shared a new athletic facilities vision with alumni at their annual convention in New Orleans. Though the highlight is a 15,000-seat (expandable to 30,000) football stadium, which would replace Blackshear Stadium, where the Panthers have played home games since 1960, that is only a small part of the three-phase plan.
That first phase comes with a $60 million price tag. In all, every athletic program at the university as well as the student body would benefit from the project, which includes the building of an athletic and academic center, a renovated basketball arena, new baseball and softball stadiums, a student recreation center with intramural fields, a tennis complex and additions to the school's Kinesiology and Health Sciences Department.
READ MORE, CLICK TITLES.
Solomon: Stadium plans show Prairie View's progress | College ...
It wasn't that long ago that Prairie View A&M debated whether to continue providing socks and jockstraps for its football players. Now, the school has had budget discussions about championship rings and plans to build a football stadium and athletic facilities that should meet the need of its athletes for decades.
Friday, school officials shared a new athletic facilities vision with alumni at their annual convention in New Orleans. Though the highlight is a 15,000-seat (expandable to 30,000) football stadium, which would replace Blackshear Stadium, where the Panthers have played home games since 1960, that is only a small part of the three-phase plan.
That first phase comes with a $60 million price tag. In all, every athletic program at the university as well as the student body would benefit from the project, which includes the building of an athletic and academic center, a renovated basketball arena, new baseball and softball stadiums, a student recreation center with intramural fields, a tennis complex and additions to the school's Kinesiology and Health Sciences Department.
READ MORE, CLICK TITLES.
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