We had the privilege of speaking with Liberty Athletic Director Ian McCaw at length about Liberty’s announced move from FCS to FBS Independent football playing status. We will release the full context of this discussion by way of a 3 part Q&A series.
In Part 2, we focus on enhancements made at Williams Stadium from a game day environment standpoint, and discuss the likelihood and timeline of the next phase of stadium expansion.
Jon Manson: President Falwell briefly discussed expansion of Williams Stadium during the press conference. Previously, the response from President Falwell and Jeff Barber was always that we would wait on the next phase of expansion until an FBS invite comes. Well, here we are. Do you have a timeline for when expansion could start? Could it be as early as at the end of the 2017 football season?
Ian McCaw: Certainly nothing could happen prior to the end of the 2017 season, that would be the earliest that anything could begin in terms of stadium construction, but that’s a big decision we need to step up to in the near future. As we want to get Williams Stadium FBS ready, there are some enhancements that are needed.
JM: What’s your philosophy on expanding the stadium? Would you like to see it at pretty much capacity before we add 5-10,000 additional seats? Or since we’re FBS now, we’re going to go ahead and expand because we expect an increase in attendance?
IM: We always want to be mindful when we build, to build and ensure we continue to have high demand and scarcity of tickets. I’m not going to be advocating for a huge volume of tickets. I’m going to be somebody more interested in creating more premium areas or premium opportunities because quite honestly that’s what people look for and that’s what’s easiest to monetize. So, we need to be really wise in making that decision in terms of what the fan base is going to need and desire as we expand.
JM: You mentioned premium areas, it sounds like perhaps there will be some additional luxury suites included in the expansion?
IM: What I found to be really marketable are Loge boxes, a box for a family or small business or a group of friends. Obviously suites, mini-suites, and a club area. I think those are the areas that people really desire the most. Those would be at the top of my list, and just pure volume of seating I need to do a little more evaluation before I can speak to that.
JM: Any other enhancements we could expect to Williams Stadium outside of expansion? There had been rumors previously about an additional video board in the opposite end zone.
IM: We’ll definitely want to do things that will add to the game day experience. We have a lot of moving parts right now with the Performance Center coming online, the new indoor practice facility, our staff being relocated in Williams Stadium. So, there’s a lot to factor in, in terms of how all those things mesh together. What I will be emphasizing in terms of improvements at Williams Stadium are going to be things that impact the fan experience and provide those premium areas.
Stay tuned for Part 3 later this weekend!
