- June 17, 2019
- Posted by: SportsV
- Categories: Home News, Industry News, News, Press Releases
Following its ground-breaking earlier this year, the University of Texas’ US$175m South End Zone expansion and renovation project at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium is continuing apace.
The project will bring renovations to the Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Center, expand amenities for student-athletes and enhance the coaches’ offices, along with providing a number of improvements and additions to gameday fan experiences.
University of Texas Vice President and Athletics Director, Chris Del Conte, said:
It’s exciting for our football program, for our coaches and really for the University of Texas for us to begin construction on a $175 million project. It’s an awesome day. It speaks volumes to Longhorn Nation. They said yes, we support you, not only philanthropically, but with their attendance in the stands.
The design of the new South End Zone will fully enclose the stadium for the first time in DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium’s 95-year history, carrying over the architecture of the north and east sides through new entry towers and filling in the corners with concessions-equipped terraces.
One of the project’s crown jewels lies inside the seating bowl. A Longhorn-shaped balcony designed into the end zone seating will be visible from the air and is the first time a logo will be carved into a seating bowl. It will offer a unique new home for football coaches’ offices and provide an electric atmosphere that everyone can embrace.
Texas Head Football Coach, Tom Herman said:
It’s ultimately for our players. When you come to the University of Texas, you deserve to train in the finest facilities in the country. We’re close right now with the renovations that we did when we first got here with our locker room and weight room, and this new project will certainly put us in the upper echelon of training facilities nationwide. At the same time, it will really enhance our gameday atmosphere for our fans.
Construction on the seats, clubs and additional amenities are scheduled to be completed in time for the 2021 Longhorn season kickoff.
Texas Athletics named Green Sports Alliance Innovator of the Year for the second year in a row
In other news, University of Texas Athletics has been named one of the ‘Environmental Innovators of the Year’ by the Green Sports Alliance for the second year in a row. The awards, now in their eighth year, recognise and applaud the best in sports and sustainability.
Texas Athletics created a multi-year zero waste strategy for all of its events to achieve zero waste by 2020. Throughout the six football games during the 2018 season, Texas was able to achieve a best single-game diversion rate of 76 percent. It generated a total of 347 tons of waste and diverted 105.22 tons to recycling and 49.39 tons to compost. Food recovery efforts led to more than 5,300 pounds of food being donated to fight hunger in Central Texas.
Throughout the 2018 program, approximately 900 volunteers donated 2,700 hours of time and their actions reached over 600,000 fans. With the 2018 season’s success, Texas Athletics is on pace to achieve a 90-percent diversion rate in 2019, one year ahead of the campus zero waste goal.
Other groups recognised by the Green Sports Alliance include the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the Center for Sport and Urban Policy at Georgia State, Fiserv Forum/Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, NC State University Athletics, Pocono Organics, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Sounders FC, Delaware North/Miller Park and the Banff Marathon.
The award presentations are the highlight of the Alliance’s Green Sports Celebration, part of its annual Green Sports Alliance Summit. The event is hosted the evening of June 19, 2019, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and will be coupled with “A Taste of Philadelphia” showcasing innovative concepts in sustainable food and beverage.
Images, courtesy: Texas Sports
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