University of Colorado sports fans had reason to celebrate Friday afternoon when the school announced it plans to break ground May 12 on a $143 million facilities project in and around Folsom Field that officials have called transformational.
The school issued a carefully worded press release late Friday afternoon effectively buying itself another month to complete the fundraising. CU officials had hoped to conduct the groundbreaking in conjunction with the spring game but were unable to raise one-third ($47.6 million) of the funding on time. The CU Board of Regents mandated that one-third in private donations be reached before moving forward.
But CU is close enough in those efforts that athletic director Rick George, chancellor Phil DiStefano and President Bruce Benson felt comfortable enough to commit to the May 12 date to break ground.
CU also stopped short of committing to complete the full project by August 2015 as originally planned.
“Completion of the majority of the project is expected prior to the fall 2015 football season,” the press release said.
CU sports information director Dave Plati said athletic director Rick George and other university leaders are confident they will achieve their fundraising goals in the next month. Plati said if there is any part of the project that has to be scaled back or won’t be done at all, those decisions will be made in the next month.
George was not available for comment Friday but is expected to discuss the project at the spring game.
While CU hasn’t reached its goal yet, the fact that it is close and the project is moving forward made Friday a groundbreaking day of sorts for the athletic department and more than 300 student athletes at the school.
The project includes a permanent indoor practice facility for the football team that has been talked about and hoped for since former coach Bill McCartney roamed the sidelines in Boulder in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The fact that such a facility will be operational in 16 months is nothing short of a major step forward for the program. The indoor facility will include an indoor track that will be a huge boost to the six track and field and cross country teams coached by Mark Wetmore.
The project will also remodel much of the Dal Ward Center and enclose the northeast corner of the stadium with the addition of a building that will house much of the athletic department as well as a more than 21,000 square feet dedicated to a high-performance sports center.
A terrace area in the northeast corner will be a popular spot for Buffs fans to watch games and take in views of the Flatirons. It also will accommodate 800 people for non-game-day events such as weddings or conventions.
“Thanks to the generosity of numerous donors, season ticket holders, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the university, we’re able to move forward with this project,” George said in the press release. “It will greatly benefit our student-athletes and will allow us to collaborate with both the campus and Boulder communities.”
