Baylor Stadium reaches milestone

With the steel framework of Baylor Stadium rising in the background, Baylor President Ken Starr announced in early May that the university has raised more than $100 million in private support for Baylor football's new home on the banks of the Brazos River, slated to open in fall 2014.

Baylor Director of Athletics Ian McCaw told the crowd that premium seating for the new Baylor Stadium, including Founders Suites, Premium Suites and Loge Boxes, have all sold out, with great demand expected for club seating options when they became available on June 1. McCaw also announced that season ticket sales for Baylor's forthcoming 2013 football season have been brisk, already running well ahead of last year's pace.

When it opens in fall 2014, Baylor Stadium will be arguably the most dynamic college football stadium in America. The $250 million on-campus stadium is under construction on a 93-acre site at the intersection of Interstate 35, one of the nation's busiest highways, and the Brazos River, the longest waterway in the state of Texas. The stadium will hold 45,000 spectators, with the flexibility to expand to 55,000, and feature the Shelia and Walter Umphrey Pedestrian Bridge that will cross the Brazos and connect the stadium to the campus in the area of Baylor Law School.

Brian Nicholson, associate vice president for facility planning and construction at Baylor, said construction on Baylor Stadium is on schedule for the August 2014 opening. Over the summer, Nicholson expects work to begin on the precast seating bowl and installation of structural steel and exterior skin of the facility on the west side of the stadium.