***Updated***
10/11/12 7:12 PM – We have confirmed our suspicions that luxury suites will be added to this new tower on the student side.
Following months of speculation, Flames Nation has learned that the second phase of Williams Stadium’s expansion is scheduled to begin following the 2012 football season. Coming off of the fifth highest attendance game in school history, with a crowd of 18,239, Liberty will be boosting the seating capacity on what has traditionally been known as the student side of the stadium. The second deck, which will be similar in size to the one built in Phase 1 of the expansion, is expected to boost capacity to around 25,000. In addition to a second deck on the student side, it also appears additional office space and concessions will be a part of the new construction.
| Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium |
When asked about what to expect from the second phase of expansion, one source was quoted as saying “If you’ve seen Florida State’s stadium, you will get an idea of what (Liberty) is going for here. The outside of the stadium (facing University Blvd) will look like an academic building.” While conjuring up images of Doak Campbell Stadium with “lots of columns”, our source also gave us some insight into how the new building will be laid out. “The first floor will be concessions, second floor will be offices…the third level will be the upper deck.” The new expansion will house athletic offices, tutoring rooms, and more, and should be roughly the height of the suite level on the home side of the stadium. Much like Phase 1, expect this addition to feature quite a bit of glass, and a Jeffersonian look to compliment the decor of recent campus expansions.
| Original rendering after all 3 Phases are complete |
While these sorts of projects have a tendency to morph and evolve over time, such as the first Williams expansion, according to our source the current renderings of Phase 2 have been in existence for around nine months. At that time, there were no plans for additional luxury suites in the new phase of Williams Stadium. However, given the athletic department’s success in filling the existing suites (a waiting list for 2012 season), we would not be surprised at all should the administration add new luxury boxes, and take advantage of an additional source of revenue.
While this vision differs in some ways from the original renderings released prior to Phase 1 of the expansion, construction of Phase 2 will send yet another strong message about Liberty’s continued commitment to being “FBS Ready.” The expanded seating will compliment the administration’s plan to expand the student body to 20,000 over the next few years. The new office and academic space will be able to accommodate the increase in number of student athletes and staff we expect in the coming transition to FBS status. The second phase of expansion will be an attractive reminder to any and all conference suitors that Liberty has the resources and vision to compete at the highest level. It continues to be an exciting time to be a part of Flames Nation.
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