In the weeks leading up to its debut, plenty of anticipation is building for the opening of the new Colorado State stadium.
The development of the new stadium has been one of the more notable stories in the college facilities landscape this year. Colorado State is now in the final weeks leading up to its first game at its new on-campus venue, which will replace the football program’s longtime home–Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium.
This week has been marked by more signs of progress for the stadium’s development. The football program’s coaching staff held its first meeting at the stadium on Monday, and later in the week head coach Mike Bobo was given the opportunity to discuss the new Colorado State stadium at an event. During that event, it was clear that the facility is attracting plenty of attention beyond Colorado State’s campus. More from The Coloradoan:
“That’s the big message we started with, the responsibility we have as coaches, as players, as support staff,” Bobo said Wednesday at the Sports Corp college football kickoff luncheon at Hotel Elegante. “We’re going into a brand new stadium and expectations are high. You want to be in a place where expectations are high, where pressure is high.”
The new facility has caught the attention of the state. At the luncheon — with the head coaches from CSU, Colorado (Mike MacIntyre), Air Force (Troy Calhoun), Northern Colorado (Earnest Collins Jr.) and CSU-Pueblo (John Wristen) all speaking — there was plenty of talk about the stadium.
The first question Bobo fielded from moderator Jim Arthur was about the 41,000-capacity stadium, and the other coaches spoke highly of the $220 million facility and its impact on Colorado.
“There’s an importance on football in the state for kids who want to have options to stay here and play,” MacIntyre said. “Also, with our state growing so fast, population creates more football players, so there are going to be more and more players in the state and they’re going to have opportunities to go to awesome facilities where football is important.”
As noted, we are now just a matter of weeks away from the Colorado State Rams’ first game at the new stadium. The Colorado State stadium’s debut is scheduled for August 26.
Rendering courtesy Colorado State University.
RELATED STORIES: Colorado State Stadium Savings Helps Cover Other Projects; Memberships for Colorado State Stadium Porch, Field Club Sold Out; Colorado State Stadium Continues to Make Progress; Colorado State Stadium Remains on Track for Opening