Martin Stadium upgrade on schedule

The $80 million project currently underway at Washington State University's Martin Stadium is progressing on schedule according to sports information director Bill Stevens.

"We're right on track," he said Wednesday.

Work began Nov. 21 on the Southside Project, during which the stadium's press box will be replaced with a facility that contains a new press box as well as club seating, loge boxes, luxury suites and a club room. Stevens said about 1,900 premium seats will be installed on the south side of Martin Stadium once the project is completed, adding to the facility's capacity, which this season was set at about 32,200 people.

Construction is slated for completion by September, he added.

"(We'll be ready) for our opener Sept. 8 against Eastern Washington," Stevens said. "But we're not there yet. ... It's still very early."

At this point, he said, crews still are working on the removal of the old press box, and they have started to prepare the stadium's infrastructure for upcoming changes. Project manager Larry Harris called this portion of the project the "demolition phase."

Next, Harris said, workers will pour large, concrete footings that will be utilized later to build the stadium's commissary section and elevator. Another footing will be necessary to hold a three-part crane being brought in for use in construction, he said.

"This crane will be the largest we've ever brought on campus - about 200 feet tall with the ability to lift 8 tons at the extreme end," Harris said.

The device will include one 300-ton crane, which will be stationed at the west end of the stadium, and one 500-ton crane, which will sit to the east. A final crane will arrive at WSU Jan. 20 for two days of work.

By February, Harris said, crews will have started building the new structure, bringing in steel and pre-cast concrete that will be used to create the club lounge floor as well as risers for seating.

Stevens invited anyone interested in the work to visit thecougarfootballproject.org, where live footage is available documenting progress at the construction site. Stevens said WSU decided to make the camera available to anyone online because of the scope of the Martin Stadium changes.

"It's a pretty big project," Stevens said. "This way you can see where we're at (and watch) the transformation, as it were."

The construction portion of the project is projected to cost $38.8 million.

Leach generates interest, donations

WSU officials said they would issue 25-year bonds to finance stadium construction once they know how much income will be forthcoming through donors and other sources.

Last year, WSU athletic director Bill Moos said if all of the new premium seats are filled in 2012, the school will earn $3.7 million in revenue toward the Southside Project. Stevens said more than $600,000 has come in so far in the form of donations, and since Mike Leach was hired as WSU's head football coach in November about 1,300 new orders have been made for season tickets to Martin Stadium.

In December, WSU received the largest gift in the history of Cougar Athletics when 1994 alumnus Greg Rankich of Kirkland, Wash., donated $3 million to support the expansion of Martin Stadium on the Pullman campus.

"The Leach hiring really generated a lot of interest," Stevens said.

Upcoming project proposal

A second undertaking at Martin Stadium, dubbed the West End-Zone Project, will be considered by WSU's Board of Regents in 2012. Through that project, a football operations center would be built on the west end of Martin Stadium to house coaching offices, locker and training rooms for players and a hall of fame, among other amenities.

Officials said the Regents will hear the proposal after design work is completed and savings from the Southside Project have been calculated along with donations for the latter project. If the West End-Zone Project is approved, construction would begin at the end of the 2012 football season and last for about 15 months according to WSU.

Once all of the improvements are completed, Moos hopes the Cougar football program would become a draw more talented athletes to Pullman. A better football team would lead to increased revenues for the athletic department as well, which Moos said would benefit all WSU sporting groups.

Katie Roenigk can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 301, or by email to kroenigk@dnews.com.