As the college football season approaches, Old Dominion University is wrapping up its S.B. Ballard Stadium reconstruction project.
Coming in at a cost of just over $70 million, the work at S.B. Ballard Stadium has been extensive in scope. The east and west stands of Foreman Field were demolished after the 2018 college football season, allowing for the construction of new stands with modern amenities in their place.
Aside from increasing the overall capacity of the facility, the project has yielded improved seating, along with more concession and restroom facilities, premium seating, wider concourses, and more. With Old Dominion set to play its home opener on August 31, the east stands are complete while the new west side–which will include a university suite and press box–is roughly two-thirds of the way finished. The work has taken place on a tight time frame, but the project is certainly falling into place as the first game of the 2019 season at S.B. Ballard Stadium approaches. More from The Virginian Pilot:
The facility is still very much a construction site, with dozens of workers racing to finish a job that had to be done in just nine months. It will be ready on time, [Stephen] Ballard said.
“It’s been an undertaking,” he said. “But it’s been a good one.”
The stadium was pieced together like a puzzle, using pre-cast concrete. The chair back and bench-back seats, a total of 18,600 — arrived in pairs, two to a box.
Counting bleachers and suites, capacity will be 22,480 — about 2,300 more than Foreman Field.
Other amenities debuting for the 2019 season include new field turf, upgraded video displays–including a videoboard and ribbon board–and a new sound system. Foreman Field originally opened in 1936, and was renovated upon the return of the university’s football program in 2009.
RELATED STORIES: Old Dominion Unveils S.B. Ballard Stadium Renovation