Arizona AD Dave Heeke gave the media a tour of most of the upgrades that have been put in place on the west side of Arizona Stadium ahead of tomorrow's home opener. Most fans aren't going to see a ton of things that have been changed, but there are some new areas for those coming to the stadium to do a little more around the stadium.
He also showcased the new SkyBox Club that is still being finished as I write this and will not be completely ready to go until game time tomorrow. It's a nice area with a decent gathering area for people who purchase suites on the west side of the stadium.
A couple things to note that Heeke spoke about while walking us through the tour.
- He mentioned that as he has looked at what the school can do next to upgrade the stadium the idea that it can be torn down and completely rebuilt doesn't work. He said the "footprint" that the stadium needs to be built on simply isn't big enough to house a modern stadium from the ground up and he sighted things around the stadium as being a reason for that. There are buildings on the academic side, such as the mirror lab, that can't be moved meaning any construction that goes on with the stadium moving forward has to be done within the current footprint.
- The current renovations that have taken place have cost $3 million up to this point.
- Things are moving along for the overhaul of the west side, however, and next year there should be everything in place to begin begin the tear down and rebuild process that will take place over a lengthy period of time at the stadium. It is a major project that is going to take probably a couple seasons to fully complete. He said Arizona wants "to be builders" when it comes to facilities and he admitted that there is catching up the university needs to do in that regard.
- He also talked about the state of the program a bit and what goal of the future is for UA football. You can hear his thoughts on that below.
