Jack Trice Stadium constructon on schedule for August completion

Almost 11 months have passed since Iowa State broke ground on the south end zone renovations at Jack Trice Stadium, never straying too far from target dates of each phase.

Now the hulking figure that bowls in the unrecognizable hillsides at the stadium is just a little more than two months away from its debut for a Cyclones game.

'There haven't been any major surprises,' said Ben Bunge, Project Manager for The Weitz Company. 'We have a good team all the way from the owner and architect to the contractors on site. Things have been running phenomenally smooth.'

The $60 million project is on schedule for completion Aug. 11 inside the Sukup End Zone Club and Aug. 24 for the stadium. The final phase of construction involves the installation of premium seating, metal bleachers and completing the indoor club.

In all, 11,000 permanent seats are being added to the stadium's capacity. Iowa State will now boast the third largest stadium in the Big 12 with capacity increasing from 56,800 to 61,000.

Between the top and bottom levels of the club, there is 40,000 square feet of space for guests to utilize. Each level will be furnished with televisions and bars and the club will also have a 7,000-square foot kitchen with concessions and beverages available for purchase.

Alcohol will be available for those paying club members inside, as well as in their seats in the south end zone. ISU Senior Associate AD for Facilities, Planning and Management Chris Jorgensen does not anticipate alcohol being sold anywhere else in the stadium for the time being.

'I liken it to what we did with Johnny's a few years ago,' Jorgensen said. 'We built it and it started out as something and now it's three years later and we're expanding that over at Hilton. I expect we'll see the same type of excitement level once this club is up and running as well.'

ISU spokesman Mike Green said 2,100 of the 3,000 end zone club seats have been sold, with all of the purchases resulting in season tickets. The qualification to purchase seats in the club is a $500 donation each year allowing the purchase of up to four seats at $750 per seat.

Jorgensen said the end zone club will be multi-purpose following the 2015 football season and be available to rent.

'We'll still be drying the paint for that first game, but we've already been approached by a number of groups as far as renting it,' Jorgensen said. 'We'll use it for a number of internal department events as well.'

'The contractors have been doing a great job maintaining the schedule,' Bunge said. 'We've hit every milestone to date and we've just got one left with the completion so things are tracking well.'

Iowa State expects to enter the second phase of the project following the completion of stadium construction. Construction will occur in some form in the parking lots between Jack Trice Stadium and Reiman Gardens. Jorgensen said that project is in the planning phase and will affect lots S1 through S4 sometime down the road.

'The south end zone project is something that has been discussed for 25 years,' Jorgensen said. 'So to finally see that we're less than 100 days away from seeing it in action, everybody is really excited about that.'

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