As part of its ongoing renovation, Sun Devil Stadium is being pitched as a venue that can host non-football events, including sports and community gatherings.
Arizona State University has spent the last several years modernizing Sun Devil Stadium, the home to its football program that originally opened in 1958. Another phase of that overhaul is set to begin soon, and ASU officials are laying out their long-term priorities for the facility.
One of the results that ASU is hoping will come from the upgrades is that Sun Devil Stadium receives more use on a year-round basis. Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, ASU’s vice president for cultural affairs and executive director of ASU Gammage, is the head of Sun Devil Stadium 365. The Sun Devil Stadium 365 intiative will work to bring more non-football events to the stadium, including community gatherings and other sports–with outdoor hockey and professional soccer being among the other games that could be staged at the venue. More from Cronkite News:
“Well, we would do that, have a rink, but we’d have peewee hockey, and we’d do figure skating, and we’d do open public skating, and then we would end with our own hockey teams, our men and women’s hockey teams, playing there,” Jennings-Roggensack said.
Other events the university is interested in hosting includes pro soccer games and high school football championships.
“What if we were able to have games with friendlies, which are like the national teams from around the world, like the Mexican National Soccer Team, to have them come here,” Jennings-Roggensack said.
When football is not in season, the university hopes to grow out the grass and give the stadium the feel of a park. The goal is to host movie nights, when families can bring a blanket and sit on the grass, or where people can come and participate in various athletic activities.
Among the upcoming changes to Sun Devil Stadium include a indoor fourth level on the east side, a feature that could be used on a year-round basis. The final price tag for renovations is expected to exceed $300 million.
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