But as the 2,000-seat upper-deck addition that rises above the east side of Washington-Grizzly Stadium starts to take shape, Dennison said he's getting used to the idea.
“This is really going to be a marvelous addition,” said the university president on Friday as he and several other school administrators led an informal tour of the project site for media. “These will be some of the very best seats in the house Š The only downside of it is, I happen to sit over there (on the stadium's west side) and it's going to destroy my view of Hellgate Canyon, but I can live with that.”
“It's the only good thing about losing in the first round of the playoffs, they got to start a little earlier (on construction),” Dennison said.
The development will also make room for a 750-seat extension of the Montana student section on the lower level, UM facilities services project manager Jerry Ballas said. Students are shouldering some of the financial load of the expansion project with a $2 raise in their athletic fee - an increase that Ballas said should come back down after construction costs are paid off. He said he expected that would take five or six years.
Once completed, the addition will bring the stadium's total capacity to 25,000. Construction is nearly 30 percent done and with 80 percent of the steel already erected, almost half of the concrete bleachers in place and plumbers and electricians on site this week, project manager Chris Nelsen of Quality Construction said the job is on pace to meet its Aug. 15 deadline.
“We had a few times where the weather was a little bit cold,” Nelsen said of a construction effort that proceeded through Missoula's winter months. “We just worked a few Saturdays to stay on schedule.”
Fifteen hundred seats after the fashion of the stadium's traditional aluminum benches will line the outside of the new level at each end, while the arena-style seats and the chic club amenities will be positioned above the 50-yard line.
Access to the upscale Canyon Room, which Dennison said could get a new moniker during the next month, comes with a $1,500 price tag and a three- to five-year membership contract.
Boosters shelling out those big bucks will have their choice between outdoor seating and the upgraded food and beverage services of the indoor club, with a capacity of 125. The club will have elevator access, private bathrooms and an east-facing outdoor deck as well as a deck dubbed the Hellgate Terrace, which will overlook the playing surface.
Access to the Terrace costs $1,000, with similar three- to five-year contracts.
Dennison said the new seats are already 95 percent sold.
Ballas, who administrators called the “father of the stadium,” has been involved with the development of Washington-Grizzly since it was built in 1986. This is the third major expansion to the stadium.
“To me it's a thrill,” Ballas said. “From being involved since day one, when we first started digging a hole in the ground, to see how the stadium has grown and expanded over the years and the excitement it develops in the community.”
The stadium likely isn't complete yet, Ballas said. After the east side expansion gets itself into the black, the school may well look into adding a similar upper deck to the west side, where the press box now sits.
“From here, we go west,” Ballas said. “We go west, young man.”
To see the university's Web site on the east side stadium expansion, visit http://www.umt.edu/athletics/wgs_expansion/vision_statement.html
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