- The current rendering of what the football stadium will look like if kept in the same location.
The UH system Board of Regents requested the University’s Athletics Department to reconsider the intramural fields as a location for the new football stadium in the Regents meeting Tuesday.
If the site is chosen for the stadium, additional costs would have to be funded by private donations.
“As promised, we will not ask our students for any additional monies,” Athletics Director Mack Rhoades said in an email.
“We are extremely grateful for their overwhelming support via this past referendum.”
If moved to the intramural fields, the stadium would cost at least an additional $40 million.
“Due to the importance of this project for both the University and the intercollegiate athletics department, the Board or Regents asked to review the Intramural Fields site a second time and verify the cost … and/or explore any other creative options for building the stadium on this site with a much reduced premium,” Rhoades said.
If the location is changed, athletics would try to incorporate the General Services Building into the design.
The initial estimates determined it would cost at least $25 million to build an new General Services building, which was included in the extra $40 million, Rhoades said.
The final location of the stadium will be determined in the Board’s meeting in March.
“We will spend the next month re-evaluating this one site to determine if we continue to move forward with the existing site,” Rhoades said.
“Please note this will not cause any delay in our project timeline.”
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It is time to stop adding layers to an old facility and build a complete new one. If you want to go big time, then do what it takes and stop using the band aid method!
Build on I45. If each alumnus gave $250 x 200000 alumni, that's the $50 million needed for a better, more visible location. Throw out to the alumni to ante up, now that their degree is worth more, being Tier One.
One of the other aspects of the new stadium was that it was going to house classroom space as well. Will this location be convenient for students to walk to class? I am not sure I know enough to say which proposal is better, but I hope the board will consider all of the impacts of the decision. Also, if the new stadium is built in a new location, the University will need to consider the costs to tear down the old facility so the property can be leveraged for class room buildings.
Put it beside I-45; Location, Location, Location!
Absolutely not. The present location is near student housing, the new parking garage, and the rest of the campus. Putting it out next to the freeway separates it from the campus. People will no longer visit the campus when they come to a game and we will lose the chance to show off our campus to visitors.Also parking would be a major problem.
From a University that promotes Track and Field, I find it curious as to why there is not a track being built at the new stadium.