[Judge Dredd]

Jurich talks about stadium expansion in todays courier-journal

Reminder: Fans were mailed surveys about this whole thing so fill them out and turn them in. I read during my communications class that surveys of this nature are important when it comes to things like this

U of L plan would grow stadium to 63,600 seats
Fans being surveyed to determine interest

By C.L. Brown
cbrown@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal



With University of Louisville football fans scrambling to find tickets for next week's game against West Virginia, athletic director Tom Jurich yesterday offered a solution to future ticket shortages.

U of L released a rough rendering of what a 21,000-seat expansion of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium would look like, and Jurich said the school is mailing a survey to fans and boosters to gauge interest in the project.



With fans seeking arguably the hottest football ticket in school history -- they were listed for as much as $450 by one online broker -- Jurich discussed expansion possibilities with the media before the men's basketball tipoff luncheon at the Marriott Downtown.

He said the $65 million project could give the stadium 63,600 seats -- all chairback -- and include 45 new luxury suites and 2,400 club seats.

A refurbished Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, which was opened in 1998 at a $78.16 million price tag, could be ready for the 2009 season with a total of 75 luxury suites and 4,200 club seats. It would be about 4,000 seats shy of the University of Kentucky's Commonwealth Stadium, which has a capacity of 67,606.

Jurich said yesterday's news conference did not constitute a formal kickoff to the building drive. In fact, he said, the feasibility study and architectural plan still are being developed and could be officially unveiled next week.

"It's something we were waiting for the right time to do it," he said. "We feel like the momentum is there for us, the window of opportunity is one that we want to capitalize on, and our fan base is certainly crying out for it."

Exactly how loud remains to be seen. There are about 2,500 people on the season-ticket waiting list.

The seven-question survey says that the priority on suites would go to fans buying tickets for both football and basketball and asks if they would prefer that package, football only or basketball only. Currently a football suite costs $30,000 and a basketball suite $75,000, tickets not included.

"We really want people to be firm," Jurich said. "If they're not going to do anything, we need them to tell us they're not going to do anything just so we can gauge the interest and know what we're going to do."

He said the expansion would proceed at a "cautious speed. We're not going to move forward just betting on the thing to happen. We're going to make sure everything is solid and in place, and that still might not be enough."

Jurich termed the $60 million to $65 million cost estimate a "moving target." He added that to fund the 15- to 18-month project, "we're going to have to bond a lot of it; we're going to have to get a lot from private donations; a lot of it is going to come with goodwill."

Construction would extend the current grandstands to the Howard Schnellenberger Training Complex at the north end. The east grandstand would get an upper deck, luxury suites and the loge seats. The south end of the stadium would add a terrace of about 50-60 feet.

"Our (terrace) idea came with what we saw at Tampa Bay," Jurich said. "If you were at Raymond James (Stadium) last year when we played South Florida -- forget the game (a 45-14 U of L loss) -- but if you remember what the place looked like … it's just a great place for people to mingle around."

He said the chairback seats would make the stadium unique in college football and a "true landmark and commodity" for the city.

"We want to keep growing and growing and keep this program on the cutting edge," he said. "We can see what a crown jewel this football program has become for this university."

Stan Bramblett of Princeton, Ky., has attended only the opener against Kentucky this season and wants to go more often. He said he would support the stadium even if public funds were needed.

"I have no doubt in my mind that U of L is going to fill that stadium," said Bramblett, 55. "This area … we have wanted a winner for such a long time, I think people will support it."

Jason Morris, 30, wasn't so sure. He said although the program is headed in the right direction, he's skeptical of the Cards developing the same following UK has had. Before this season the Wildcats averaged 56,500 fans in 206 games at Commonwealth Stadium.

"UK has a loyal base and a continual following of loyal fans that go to the games regardless," said Morris, a Louisvillian. "U of L, they just started a winning tradition maybe 10 years ago. That's not really longevity in college football."