New athletics fundraising site details plan for Commonwealth Stadium renovation

%C2%A0

 

Staff report | @KyKernelSports

[email protected]

A new UK Athletics fundraising website includes details of renovations plans for Commonwealth Stadium, as well as other athletic facility projects.

Kfundonline.com will allow donors to give money to the fundraising arm of the athletic department, known as the K Fund, and also outlines plans for captial projects, such as renovating Commonwealth Stadium.

According to the site, “the long-term goal is to re-invent Commonwealth Stadium, to give UK Athletics, and the university as a whole, game day and day-to-day entertainment space.”

The plans for the stadium, depending on available funding, include “spectator-driven improvements,” such as better concessions, restrooms, video boards and security. Also in the plans is the addition of a recruiting room in the east end zone near Nutter Field House.

Commonwealth will also receive 10 to 15 suites, new press facilities, a new team store and a full-service kitchen.

The renovation is not an expansion, as one goal of the model is to “maintain, or slightly reduce, seating capacity while increasing the value of the remaining seats.”

The estimated cost of such a renovation is $125 million (depending on market value), according to the site. There is no timetable for when the project will be under way.

The site also lists details concerning other projects, such as a new baseball stadium on Alumni Drive, adjacent to the softball and soccer complex. The estimated price for the new facility is $32 million, according to the site.

A $6.5 million expansion of the Boone Tennis Center also is outlined, adding two additional courts, expanded locker rooms, offices, training rooms, study lounges, exercise areas and seating for 400 spectators.

Other projects mentioned are improving the fan experience at Memorial Coliseum, expanded academic and tutoring facilities, upgrades to the Nutter Football Training Center and a rifle range.