ISU hopes to complete stadium project by 2015

 By Rob Gray

 Correspondent

 AMES - About that enclosing of Jack Trice Stadium's south end zone that fans have breathlessly asked Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard about for years …

It's finally coming.

Thanks to a $25 million “lead gift” from Reiman Publications founders Roy and Bobbi Reiman, a plan can be set in motion to turn that long-sought goal into reality.

“This transformational gift allows the university to request permission from the (Iowa) Board of Regents to begin the planning process for a project that promises to create a stunning entrance to our campus, and a dramatic game day football environment,” Pollard said Monday during a news conference at the Bergstrom Football Complex. “The gift from the Reiman Foundation also reinforces the importance of philanthropic giving to the future success of Iowa State University.”

Pollard said estimating a final cost for the project would be a “hypothetical” exercise at this point, but noted that gifts such as the Reiman's tend to beget others.

“I fully expect there will be others that want to get behind the project and be part of it and it will also spur fundraising on the rest of the campus, because this is bigger than just the stadium,” Pollard added.

Pollard said bowling in the south end zone wouldn't necessarily translate to increasing Jack Trice Stadium's capacity beyond the current 56,800.

“What we've experienced over the last several years in our stadium is unbelievable and we need to capture that and enhance it and do whatever we can to maintain what we've developed,” he said.

Cyclone coach Paul Rhoads echoed that desire.

Jack Trice Stadium has hosted eight of the nine largest crowds in its 38-year history in the past three seasons.

This season - despite ISU's 2-9 win-loss mark entering Saturday's 3 p.m. game at West Virginia - a record for average paid home attendance was set at 55,361.

“We would like the capacity to stay close to the same,” Rhoads said. “I want to play in front of a sold-out stadium and this program, this state doesn't show, numerically or financially, that they're going to put 70,000 in there. So I want a design that's going to allow us to play in front of a packed stadium.”

Pollard said the project will be submitted to the Regents in February.

It's hoped the south end zone could be bowled in by the start of the 2015 football season and to remain on that schedule, construction would have to begin after the 2014 season.

Pollard also stressed that the completion of a lower bowl at Jack Trice Stadium is only part of a larger vision to enhance the attractiveness of an area that already includes the nearby Reiman Gardens.

“We started this concept five years ago and at that time it was just a stadium project,” Pollard said. “I've said within the last year what's been really neat about the development of this project is it's become a university initiative to to beautify the campus, to improve the entrance to Iowa State, to change the entrance to Reiman Gardens and also bowl in the stadium. The fact that it's now a part of a much more comprehensive university plan is so much more exciting for our institution than if we were just doing something to the football stadium.”

Rhoads said the project will undoubtedly aid in the recruiting process.

The Bergstrom Football Complex, which was completed last October for $20.6 million, helped convince top recruits such as tailback Aaron Wimberly to join the program.

Essentially, Rhoads said, if big things are being built, hearts and minds open wider.

“This gives us another set of blueprints, more concrete, more steel, more excitement for us on the recruiting front,” Rhoads added.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Grant Rohach agreed.

“I think it will be a huge boost in our recruiting,” he said.