More stadium renovation info from Jerry Kutz

Re: Jam or Jerry....stadium question for ya.

"The night the stadium was opened in 1950, Bobby Bowden was the starting quarterback for Howard College (now Sanford).
Doak turns 65 this year and like a lot of us in our 60s is in need of more than cosmetic surgery.

She needs orthopedic work and some gastrointestinal as well. Doak is at that age where maintenance includes foundation work, rust abatement and other expensive repairs. What makes it so costly is that you have to remove all that electrical wiring and plumbing stuff up under the stadium in order to sandblast the rust before you can paint. The top side is relatively easy as all you have to remove are bleachers. The underside is very labor intensive.

We started looking at options three years ago with various stadium design/build teams including HKS who built ATT stadium, TCU and many others. We commissioned them to look at a comprehensive stadium plan, whether renovate or rebuild, and they came to us with several options that included partial and full replacement plans that each featured the endzone club seat project as the first phase, then a continuation of that design down the east and west sidelines.

The design/build team (EMI, Childers, Rosser International) that is building the Champions Club has designed it to be compatible with east and west sideline experience that will not block sight lines. While we don't know the time frame for when phase 2 and 3 will be viable, we wanted the plan to be in place for when that time comes. 

The good news is that much of the really expensive stuff in the stadium complex is built as part of the University Center Complex and would not have to be rebuilt, things like the pressbox and skyboxes are on top of the UCC buildings. The coaches offices and athletic center are free standing on the North Side and the University Center Club and Champions Club are also either free standing or will be built on solid structure.

All we need to do to renovate or replace is the metal structure in between those four buildings and concessions and bathrooms. That's still a big project -- most likely $60-70 million to renovate and about $200 million to replace -- but it would be far more if we had to include the skyboxes and all the other stuff.

There are two clear choices that the Boosters, Athletics Department, and President's office have to consider. The Board of Trustees asked if we had a plan for replacement as well as repair and we were able to answer affirmatively.

Money is always a factor. The state, nor the university, can spend money on an athletic facility so it comes down to funding the project privately through a bond issue funded by ticket prices, booster priority requirements and capital campaign gifts.

A painted stadium will improve the fan experience and help justify increased ticket and Booster priority requirements. A redesigned stadium would optimize revenue generation as it would allow FSU to add mid-level skyboxes and sideline club seats, which both drive a lot of revenue, and maximize capacity with more space per seat not to mention improved concession and merchandising space. There are financial models that point toward re-design which could be all new or part new and part renovated.

In either case, the optimum fan experience in our remote market, with our local infrastructure of hotels, roads leading to and from stadium, parking and airport is 70-75k capacity. It is challenging to get to that number when you meet all code requirements, ADA requirements and provide your fan with a wider seat and more leg room. 

We are pursuing the ultimate answer with the leaders in the industry. We don't have the bonding capacity to borrow all of the money that we need at once so we are approaching it in phases. Our Champions Club project is phase 1. The Board of Trustees scrutinized our pro-forma for that section before approving the plan which requires bond financing. The fact we had more than 1500 seats already reserved with cash payments at that time proved to the BOT that there is an appetite for premium seating from our fans. Having the money in hand spoke louder than past surveys. In June we go before the Board of Governors and the Legislature to approve the plan and the bonding. We now have more than 1850 seats reserved which will also demonstrate demand from our fans and help justify our projections.

If sales of Phase 1 continues to be successful it will encourage a more-aggressive vision. The sales process certainly has created many conversations with our customers, and prospective customers, and given us a true survey of what people want and what they are willing and able to pay for, not just what they say they want. The most accurate survey is when the customer has his pen and checkbook in hand.

We are making all the required safety improvements to Doak this summer for the upcoming season and plan to have a course charted later this summer as to a timeline for Phase 1 and 2.

The interim step is to repair and paint what we need to for 2016 while building and continuing to sell Phase 1 (Champions Club). As we sell phase 1 we will continue to asses interest for Phase 2 and fundraise for stadium enhancement.

Someone asked about adding inches to each seat as an interim improvement. Yes, that is being considered. While an improvement, it is a capacity eater, requires a re-seating, and does not resolve the knees in your back which we can't fix until we build a stadium with 30 inches or more between rows (re-design and re-build).

This decision is being made in every stadium across the nation, college and pro. Fans are demanding a "man cave" experience and will stay home if that is a better experience than the stadium experience. It fall's into that category: To not decide is to decide.

If you don't renovate or build,  you will lose customers and revenue and spend marketing dollars trying to replace them which in our minds makes the decision urgent."



"The new Champions Club gives us two new ballrooms bigger than the one we have now on the third floor (which will almost be doubled in size) so we will have the capacity to do a lot of things we've never been able to do before including business conferences. We're adding some 50,000 square feet of indoor space plus 32,000 square feet of covered rooftop terraces that are also awesome spaces. It will be one of the best rental spaces in all of North Florida and have a helluva view for Seminole related events.

Your ideas are among the ideas we have not only for the football weekend experience for Champions Club members and their guests but year round for all Boosters and UCC members and fans when space allows.

I see the possibility of the Champions Club becoming a 6,000 seat ampitheater during the year with the stage located about where the Marching Chiefs sit during the game. You'd have an amazing indoor/outdoor entertainment experience. There are many revenue-generating possibilities and with College Town right next door. With Seminole Boosters partnership with Club Corps of America (University Center Club) we can provide food and beverage year in the spaces year round.

Its going to be fun... and may be unique in college football.   "