Seeking Input: Auburn's renovation plans to Jordan-Hare Stadium
By James Crepea | jcrepea@al.com
Auburn, AL
Auburn is seeking feedback to its plans for a major renovation of the North end zone of Jordan-Hare Stadium, which would include an expanded concourse and walkways, club seating, additional concessions, new locker rooms, video board, recruiting lounge and other amenities.
Tigers Unlimited, the fundraising arm of Auburn's athletics department, issued an email survey to "approximately 5,000" accounts and has setup an email account and website for fans to give feedback to the plans.
If approved, the renovation would start following the 2016 season and be open for the start of the 2018 football season, a source with knowledge of the plans told AL.com.
"Before we move forward and ask for approval on such a major project, it's vitally important for us to reach out to the Auburn Family," Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said in a statement on the department's website. "This survey is critical because it will help us determine the level of interest and support for a potential renovation to Jordan-Hare Stadium. The level of interest and support in a major stadium renovation must be substantial for it to be feasible."
The renderings released by Auburn, which are reworked plans after Jacobs was not pleased with initial design concepts for the potential project, show a mostly brick exterior to a multi-leveled concourse wrapping around the North end zone and connecting the East and West sides of the stadium.
The interior views show a multi-leveled seating plan including suites and club seating similar to those of Mississippi State's expansion of Davis Wade Stadium, which opened in the fall of 2014 with multiple levels, loge and field-level seating.
A new video board above the expansion appears comparable in size to the new $13.9 million video board Auburn built in the South end zone this past year.
"We know it's important to continue to improve the gameday experience, and that's why it's been a focus of mine for years now." Jacobs said in a release. "We know our fans and donors want more amenities such as more premium seating options but also other amenities that all of our fans will benefit from."
The total cost of the project, which had initial estimates were $145 million, is unclear, as is how it would be funded. Auburn spent $100,000 in the planning and design phases of the renovation project, according to documents obtained by AL.com.
Auburn's Board of Trustees, which would have to approve any renovation plans, discussed a $4.5 million construction project to repair the storm drain and sewer line in the North end zone last month, according to documents obtained by AL.com. That project, which is being funded by bonds, would begin in January and continue through August of next year, according to documents.
In May, Jacobs told AL.com the North end zone renovation would be funded through debt service and he believed Auburn's ticket sales and new premium seating would support funding.
"We're basing it totally on ticket revenue," Jacobs said in May. "We're not even taking into consideration any philanthropic giving."
It's unclear if ticket revenue alone would still cover the cost of the renovation project, which is not expected to alter the capacity of Jordan-Hare Stadium much from its current 87,451. The biggest difference would be in the expansion of premium seating in the North end zone and possible relocation of the press box to the Northwest corner, which would then create suites on the West side of the stadium.
Via the school's website, Jacobs stressed the project is still in the preliminary stages and the athletics department will only seek approval by the Board of Trustees if there is significant interest in the plans.
"Nothing has been approved and nothing is final," Jacobs said in a release. "We are sharing the renderings with donors so they can see the vision of what the North end zone could be."
Fans are encouraged to provide feedback via email (JHSRenovation@auburn.edu) or by visiting the Tigers Unlimited website found here.
"We want their input and feedback, and I encourage them to offer it," Jacobs said in a release. "Fan and donor feedback has driven a lot of what we've done with the gameday experience that has proven to be popular and helped make Auburn's gameday experience the best in the nation."