The Unviersity of Texas hopes to begin a Royal Memorial Stadium renovation as early as next summer, but must line up funding before the plan proceeds.
Under the current concept, Texas would look to improve Royal Memorial Stadium through a major renovation project that address both fan amenities and team facilities. The work would take place at the south end zone of the stadium, where a new facility for the football program would be constructed, along with a mix of fan amenities that includes loge seating, clubs, and suites.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte would like to start construction as early as next summer, but cautions that there are still plenty of tasks that must be completed before the project moves forward. That includes approval from the board of regents, along with an effort to secure donations. More from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Del Conte said there is much work left to be done, including getting a plan approved by the Texas board of regents at a meeting in August. Then he has to secure the funding from Texas donors.
“Our goal is to start next summer, but I’ve got a long ways to go,” said Del Conte, who left TCU for the same job at Texas in December. “I’m in that process. It’s not like at TCU where we we’re just like, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’”
Del Conte said getting 600,000 living Texas alumni all on the same page with regard to the improvements to the stadium, which was original built in 1924 but has been renovated and upgraded multiple times over the years, the last coming in 2013.
“I have fancy pictures [of renderings] but we still have to raise a lot of money,” he said. Del Conte said the renovations will include suites, a club, new loge seating and a new football building being built at the south end zone.
If it does move forward as proposed, the Royal Memorial Stadium renovation would follow some familiar trends in college football. Other programs have sought to complete renovations that result in improved player amenities and new premium areas for fans, with a project at the University of Missouri being an example of a similar concept that is currently in the works.
Rendering courtesy University of Texas.