Indiana University’s Board of Trustees approved $53 million in Memorial Stadium upgrades, as the athletic department seeks permission to enclose the south end of the facility.
It’s a move that been discussed since 2014, but the school is ready to move forward on the proposal. The construction won’t increase the capacity of the stadium (52,929), but it will allow the school to make other changes to the football-program and athletic-department facilities and add some new fan-friendly features within the stadium bowl, including a new videoboard. From the Indianapolis Star:
Replacing the current Hoosier Room — a multipurpose dining facility inside Memorial Stadium — and reconfiguring the treatment facilities adjoining it will allow athletics to repurpose the area it currently occupies. According to the minutes, the football team’s locker room will be renovated and expanded, with the sports medicine facility moved to the north area of what is now the Hoosier Room, and a players lounge added in the south area.
The roof of the new structure will be dedicated to fan amenities. Knothole Park, a popular children’s play area currently located beyond the stadium’s south end zone, will be relocated there, and the structure will also include what the minutes term “a large event terrace.”
The project calls for a new video board to be placed in the renovated south end zone area, at a size of 40 feet by 70 feet. The north end zone will also get a video board, sized 20 feet by 60 feet.
Additionally, according to the minutes, various upgrades related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are expected, “including seating platforms and restroom renovations.”
The stadium opened in 1960.
Photo of Memorial Stadium courtesy Indiana University.