Private funding for student-athlete center begins today

Staff report

CHAPEL HILL -- The start of Phase II of the Kenan Stadium renovations begins today with the sale of club seats and individual suites for the proposed Carolina Student-Athlete Center for Excellence.

Phase I, which included new stadium lights and adding a fifth floor to the football center, was completed during the summer.

The new center -- which will house student-athlete academic support, the Carolina Leadership Academy, a strength and conditioning center, visiting locker rooms, club seats and individual suites -- will be located in the east zone and will triple the size of the current facility that was opened 23 years ago.

The project is expected to cost $70-85 million, but its final approval by the Board of Trustees and university administration will occur once the necessary private funding is secured. The sale of the club seats and individual suites will pay for most of the project.

"Kenan Stadium is a campus treasure, but it was built more than 80 years ago and we have been studying plans for the last decade to modernize the facility, improve the fan experience and provide better academic support for our student-athletes," UNC athletic director Dick Baddour said in a statement. "We have to accomplish these goals in a way that the project not only pays for itself but provides a long-term source of additional revenue for Carolina Athletics.

"The revenue from club seats and suites will help us over the next 30 years continue to fund our 28-sport program at its current competitive levels."

Baddour said the school wanted to begin Phase II a year ago but didn't because the economy wasn't strong enough. He said construction costs are more favorable now, although there is no timetable for completion.

"This project is really about two things -- giving our 800 student-athletes a great academic center and giving our athletic department a long-term financial model that works," UNC chancellor Holden Thorp said in a statement.

The new seating section will be called the Blue Zone and will increase the stadium capacity by 3,230 seats. The individual suites seat 16 and will sell for $50,000 a year. There are 1,986 seats in the Concourse Club and 924 seats in the Upper Club/Loge, and they will sell for $1,500 to $2,500 per season.

A new concourse in front of the Carolina Student-Athlete Center for Excellence also will allow fans to move around the entire perimeter of Kenan Stadium for the first time.

"The Blue Zone seats will be closer to the action than any seats in Kenan Stadium and offer a remarkable view of the field as well as providing the amenities that fans look for in today's modern stadiums," John Montgomery, executive director of the Rams Club, said in a statement. "The selling point of the project is that the premium seats give us a fundraising tool that helps us build the academic center and create a new revenue stream that is important to the future of Carolina athletics."

The strength and conditioning center will be housed at field level and will include 13,600 square feet of cardio and strength training equipment and a 40-yard track to double the amount of space that currently is available.

The academic center will include classrooms, computer labs, a writing center, auditorium, individual and group tutorial/conference rooms, and offices for the academic support staff, career services, community outreach, life skills and Carolina Leadership Academy.

"Carolina offers one of the largest numbers of athletic opportunities in the ACC, and we are in need of a bigger facility to provide academic counseling, support and programming," John Blanchard, senior associate director of athletics for student-athlete services, said in a statement.

To purchase seats in the Blue Zone, contact the Rams Club at (919) 843-2000 or visit NewKenan.com.