| CycloneFanatic
Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: West Des Moines
Posts: 10,700
Credits: 16,096,942 NFL: Colts NBA: Suns MLB: Red Sox |
Q&A With Jamie Pollard On the Facilities Master Plan
The Iowa Board of Regents approved Pollard's plan at a meeting on June 21.
June 22, 2006
Jamie Pollard Q&A - Facilities Master Plan
What ultimately made you decide to expand the stadium so soon?
"For starters, we are not just expanding the stadium and seating capacity. Rather, we're bowling in the end zone to create a better atmosphere, and, most importantly, add restrooms and concessions. Last fall, I received a lot of e-mails from folks who couldn't find a way to use the restroom. The only way to get from one side of Jack Trice to the other is to physically leave the stadium. Although there will be the benefit of extra seating, the project is actually being done for the atmosphere of the stadium. What we need to do to attract more people and create excitement is to develop an environment that has a very, very captured atmosphere. Having the ability to have the end zone bowled in and have that big artificial wall gives an awesome visual presence."
What are the actual changes that will take place? What will be done to Hilton and what will be done to Jack Trice Stadium?
"The first phase will have many aspects, one being the addition of 24 suites to Jack Trice Stadium on the west side of the stadium. We also want to revamp the club section and to change all the fencing and gates on the exterior of the stadium. In addition, we will also be working on the Hilton practice facility, which would include separate gymnasiums for men's and women's basketball and volleyball. It would have all of the locker rooms and support units for those sports as well.
It would also include revamping Hilton Coliseum, pulling the wall out and creating a glass exterior. That would double the width of the concourse so that you can add concessions and merchandising areas. The plan also includes 20 suites - 10 on each side - and completely overhauls the infrastructure. The facility has basically been left alone for 35 years and has a lot of deferred maintenance issues to address.
After that, we will come back over to Jack Trice and begin working on bowling in the end zone. This will include making the concourse go from one side to the other and connecting it so someone can walk from one side of the stadium to the other. This will also allow us to add restrooms and concessions inside the stadium. As for long-term changes, the approach would be to look at building the atrium and office complex at Hilton Coliseum. In addition, we will be working with the student body on a student recreation center, which would include an aquatic center and gymnastics practice facility.
But, the jewel in all of this, if we can get to it, would be the Gateway Athletic Complex. This would involve taking the exterior of the stadium along Elwood Drive and really making it the front door to campus. The concept is to take the land across from the stadium and making the Gateway Athletic Complex, which would include softball, perhaps a baseball stadium, a track stadium and indoor and outdoor tennis facilities."
Is this a project that you started in on as soon as you were hired as the Athletics Director?
"I knew during the recruitment and interview process that the facilities were an issue of major concern for Iowa State University's future, so it was something we started on immediately. When I started, they had already begun work on a Hilton project and we had that delayed so that we could have a broader vision approach. What we've shared is a long-range vision for the future of Iowa State University athletics. Thirty-five years ago, the Iowa State Center was built and there were many that thought it never could happen. It was a grand facility 35 years ago, but our competition has passed us by and we need to find a way to come back. We are at that same juncture as Dr. Hilton was in the 1950's."
How big of a job is financing all of this going to be?
"It's going to be a challenge. If it were easy, someone would have already done it. Our administrative team looks at it like Dr. Hilton did in the 1950's as it relates to the Iowa State Center. This isn't a desire, this is a must. I don't look at it as a risky proposition, but instead something that we have to do. Plain and simple, we have to do it. We'll need to stay focused and committed to get it done."
What kind of timetable are we talking about?
"If everything goes as planned, we would hope to have the suites in Jack Trice and the club sections revamped and ready to go by the fall of 2008. We would like to have the basketball and volleyball practice facilities built and ready to go by the fall of 2009 and to have the Hilton suites and concourses done by the fall of 2010. The next step is having the end zone bowled in by the fall of 2010. That's an aggressive timeframe."
Does that mean that all of the construction will be happening around that same time or will you have it staged?
"It will be a challenge to construct the suites between the two seasons. As far as the practice facility, this will be a little easier if we have the funding in place because it is a new facility and somewhat detached from Hilton. The construction of Hilton is a little more complicated and will need to be staged around multiple seasons."
As far as financing, you are relying on ticket sales, donations, and what else?
"For this to happen, it is going to come 100% from our fan base. The State isn't in a position to contribute funds to it, nor is the university. So, as I've said all along, this program doesn't belong to Dr. Geoffroy, or Jamie Pollard, or Dan McCarney, or Greg McDermott. It's our fan's program. If we truly want to do this, this is the time to step up. It is going to come from fundraising, it is going to come from the sale of suites and club seats, it is going to come from re-pricing of seat contributions for where people sit at Hilton and Jack Trice Stadium. It will also require looking at ticket prices as well. It is encouraging to me is that there is a grassroots element to this vision. Iowa State University has 175,000 living alumni. If one- of-every-10 living alumni joined the National Cyclone Club at the minimum level of $100, we could finance $30 million worth of construction. In 1992, Texas A&M grew their donor base from 6,000 to 25,000 in six years with the majority of donors giving at the lowest levels and not owning season tickets. We are at 6,000 today and there is no reason why we can't do that as well."
Is it possible that there will be a corporate sponsorship on the name of the facility?
"We won't be taking the name Jack Trice Stadium or Hilton Coliseum away, but there are other opportunities. There may be options to name the club sections, the field, the court, the practice facility, the atrium, the office towers and many other opportunities. This is all pretty exciting and it couldn't be a better time to be a Cyclone."
|
Linear Mode
