Hawkeyes win big gift for new Kinnick end zone

IOWA CITY - Months after hinting at a 'multimillion-dollar contribution” in the works for a nearly $90 million renovation of Kinnick Stadium's north end zone, the University of Iowa has announced longtime Hawkeye supporter Ted Pacha is giving $5 million to the project.

The leadership gift moves the UI Department of Intercollegiate Athletics closer to reaching its $25 million 'Kinnick Edge Campaign” goal, which officials say is imperative for the project's success - as the department is self-supporting and receives no state funding.

With the Pacha gift, the campaign now is a third of the way toward its target, according to Dana Larson, executive director of communications and marketing for the UI Foundation. Fundraisers will make a 'concentrated public push” to complete the campaign during the next Hawkeye football season in hopes of unveiling the renovation for the 2019 season.

'This generous gift from the Pachas provides great momentum,” Larson said.

Last renovated in 1983, Kinnick's north end zone is slated for a variety of upgrades including improved concessions, more bathrooms, a field view from the concourse, another 1,600 premium seats and a club room.

Although the renovation will increase the number of high-end seats, it will decrease the stadium's total capacity, which currently stands at 70,585. After the project, Kinnick will have a capacity of about 69,000, Athletic Director Gary Barta told the Board of Regents in October.

The average Kinnick attendance for the season that just ended was 69,656, with four games reaching capacity. The average attendance for the season before, however, was 63,142.

Iowa hasn't averaged capacity attendance since 2011. Barta told the regents he expects Kinnick to remain in the top 25 nationally for capacity even with the lost seats.

He noted a growing demand for premium seating.

'We have over 300 people on a waiting list who can't yet get into the premium seating we have in our current structure,” Barta told the regents. 'So we're comfortable in saying that there's going to be interest there.”

Barta said during the October meeting, when the board approved the project, that a donor was planning a multimillion contribution but wasn't ready to go public.

Now in discussing his decision to give, Pacha said his love for Hawkeye sports started as a kid. His first job, at age 10, was selling pop at UI football games - he didn't catch a game from a proper seat in the stands until years later.

Once he did, he said he was hooked.

Pacha and his wife, Deb, are season ticket holders for Hawkeye football, men's and women's basketball and wrestling. A charter member of the I-Club's Kinnick Society, Pacha began his Hawkeye athletics philanthropy in 1974 and has continued giving for the past four decades.

Among projects he and his wife have supported are the P. Sue Beckwith M.D., Boathouse, the Roy G. Karro Athletics Hall of Fame and Museum and prior renovations to Kinnick and Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'We have a great passion for the mission of Iowa athletics and are extremely proud to take a leadership role in the Kinnick Edge Campaign,” Pacha said in a statement.

After training as a medic and serving in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1974, Pacha founded Hawkeye Medical Supply, which grew into one of the region's largest health care distribution companies. He spent a quarter century as president of that company and now serves atop the Iowa City-based consulting firm Theo Resources.

Pacha has served as a Hawkeye athletics volunteer including as president of the National I-Club and being on other boards and committees.

UI Football Coach Kirk Ferentz said Pacha was among the first people he and his wife met when they arrived in Iowa City in 1981.

'What makes Ted so special is his fierce commitment and loyalty to his friends and community,” Ferentz said in a statement. 'Ted and Deb have been great friends to us - personally and professionally - and we are very grateful for their generosity and unwavering support.”

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