Future College Football Stadiums
New Aloha Stadium The problems with the old Aloha Stadium started
to show way back in 2005 when the stadium’s structure started to give.
The biggest issue with the old Aloha Stadium was the rusting caused by Honlulu’s
ocean-salt climate.
They initially used steel when building the stadium in order to avoid the need for painting,
and it backfired.
The steel wouldn’t stop rusting which put the entire stadium at risk with the need for
more room to hold more patrons, and hundreds of seats needing to be repaired.
A Honolulu engineering firm calculated that it would cost the state up to 215 million
dollars to repair the damage to the stadium, but even then they would only be preserving
it for a few more years.
In 2007 the state proposed the idea of using 300 million dollars to build a whole new stadium
instead of using 215 million to save a dying stadium.
The old Aloha Stadium needed immediate repairs at this point, or would soon have to be demolished.
The state used 12.4 million dollars in May 2007 to remove the rust and corrosion on the
old stadium.
Over the next couple of years the state would continue pouring money into the old Aloha
Stadium to keep it standing, but eventually the state would come to the decision that
the stadium was more of a liability than an investment.
In early 2017 a study came out presenting the idea of building a new stadium which would
be smaller than the current one.
The stadium would only have 30,000 seats and be built on existing property, along with
some commercial development surrounding it.
In July 2019 the governor of Hawaii approved a new stadium project.
The state will be putting up 350 million dollars to build the new Aloha Stadium, and it will
be located in Halawa, Honolulu.
It won’t just be a stadium but also an entertainment district that will include a hotel, railstation,
mixed-up retail, an area for residential homes, and the 35,000 seat Aloha Stadium.
Construction for the new Aloha Stadium is set to begin late this year, and the opening
of the new stadium is sometime in 2026.
The entertainment district is on a different schedule and will be completed somewhere between
2033-2038.
New USF Stadium Raymond James Stadium is the current home
of the USF Bulls, but in just a few more years the University of South Florida plans to have
its own on-campus stadium to call home.
Last year in September the college chose contractor Barton Malow, and Populous Architects to design
and build the new stadium.
The new stadium is set to cost around 247 million dollars based on a study in 2017 that
proposed the idea of an 40,000 seat stadium that could one day expand to 50,000 seats.
The new USF stadium will be built on Sycamore Fields, and is set to open sometime in 2026.
Until then the USF Bulls will continue to play their games in the Raymond James Stadium
which is home to the NFL team Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New Ryan Stadium The Northwestern Wildcats will soon be getting
a new stadium after the college is done tearing down the old one.
No one is sure whether or not the college had plans to propose the idea of a new stadium,
or if the college just saw the opportunity.
After they were gifted 480 million dollars back in September of 2021 by the Ryan Family.
A year after the family donated the money Northwestern came out and announced their
plans to build a new football stadium.
The New Ryan Stadium design includes 35,000 seats which is 12,000 less than what the current
stadium has.
A noise-refracting canopy, roof, plazas, and technology to heighten the fan experience.
Northwestern wishes to make this stadium more modern than the last one, and for that reason
the New Ryan Stadium won’t just be created for football games, but also to host other
huge events like concerts.
The New Ryan Stadium is set to open in 2026, but as of right now Northwestern has yet to
work out where the Wildcats will play their games as the new stadium is being built.
Clemson Memorial Stadium Renovations Clemson Memorial Stadium aka Death Valley
the stadium got its nickname not only because of Death Valley National Park, but also because
the college is located on a hill that used to overlook a cemetery.
It's funny because if there is one thing about this college that will never die, it's the
football stadium that’s been standing tall since 1942.
By now most colleges would’ve moved on and just proposed the idea of a new stadium if
they felt like the existing one was either too damaged, or just not good enough anymore.
Clemson is the exception.
Over the years the Clemson Memorial Stadium has been through various renovations to add
more seating, improve the endzones, and overall make the fan experience better as the demand
started to increase.
But still there is always more to improve especially in this age of technology and entertainment.
In September of 2022 Clemson revealed that the stadium had undergone major renovations
to overall improve the fan experience.
Those renovations included a 126-foot wide, 56.5 foot-tall videoboard with a whole new
sound system.
The lighting system has also been upgraded to improve the atmosphere during nighttime
games.
The renovations went out to include a premium space filled with 600 seats located on the
concourse level on the west side of the stadium.
This space acts as an indoor club with its own private bathrooms, and an area for food
and drinks as well.
They added in a new video board on the east side of the stadium along with a 365-day viewing
connected the stadium to the Scroll of Honor and Memorial Park.
All of these renovations were completed back in 2022, but Clemson is still finishing up
Phase 2 of the renovations.
This will include major upgrades to the Tiger Walk experience through the Rogers Family
Lot, and renovations to the first floor of the West Zone.
The college will be adding new locker rooms, and other teams’ areas.
These things haven’t been updated since 2006, and the phase 2 renovations started
in November 2022, and are expected to be done in August 2023.
As part of the renovations to Clemson Memorial Stadium there will also be 115 trees planted
in the parking lot.
Jerry Richardson Stadium Expansion
Jerry Richardson Stadium is the home to the Charlotte 49ers of University of North Carolina,
and currently the stadium holds less than 16,000 seats for fans.
The university plans to change that in a major plan that contains multiple phases and will
cost 102 million dollars to complete.
Phase 1 of the plan is to expand the seats to 21,000 just to start, but in the end there
will be 30,000 seats in the stadium.
This expansion won’t just benefit the football program, but every single athletic team at
the college.
Phase 1 of this expansion will also include a new softball clubhouse, a stadium for men’s
and women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse, a baseball clubhouse, and renovating the locker
rooms for the basketball teams.
At this point the college has already finished renovating the locker room for the football
players.
The expansion is in preparation for the Charlotte 49ers to join the American Athletic Conference,
and while there is no exact date on when that will be taking place, the university will
be working hard throughout this year and the next to complete phase 1 of this expansion,
and improve their athletics.
There is no set date for when the entire expansion will be complete because as of right now the
university plans to gradually add in a lot of new buildings, and upgrades for multiple
sports teams.
It is believed though the entire plan will take
10-15 years to complete.
Possible Beaver Stadium Renovations Beaver Stadium has been the home to the Penn
State Nittany Lions since 1960, but some parts of that stadium have been standing tall since
1909.
Beaver Stadium has a seating capacity of 106,572 making it the second-largest stadium in the
Western Hemisphere, and fourth largest in the world.
The stadium is considered to be one of the toughest venues for opposing teams, and maybe
that’s why Penn State refuses to part ways with the stadium.
Beaver Stadium has undergone expansion six times in history in order to add in more seats,
include more walkways and entry points, and to overall improve the fan experience.
In 2015 it came out the university was looking to either replace Beaver Stadium with a new
one, or do more renovations.
The university stated that despite all expansions done over the years, Beaver Stadium is still
in need of more renovations if it is going to keep standing for the next 10 years.
The elevators are small and sluggish, the stadium still uses bleachers, it has limited
concession options, and the layout prevents wider use of the stadium.
Penn State would like to be able to host other events such as concerts, and the NHL Winter
Classic game.
Beaver Stadium has been a potential location for the famous event for a while.
The fans don’t wish to have Beaver Stadium replaced with a new one, but also acknowledge
that renovations are needed as well.
In 2022 it was announced that Penn State was working with Populous in order to come up
with a new renovation plan for Beaver Stadium, so it does look like the university is avoiding
a new stadium.
Penn State has made it clear that one thing it wants the stadium to maintain the capacity
of at least 100,000 seats as that is important to them.
Penn State knows it's going to be a huge project and some believe it could cost the university
up to 500 million to make the renovations, as they want to add in more luxury boxes,
scoreboards, and other things.
As of right now we only know that they are in the planning stage for the Beaver Stadium
renovations, but an announcement should be made soon.
Comment below which of these stadiums are you looking forward to seeing the most.