Regents approve Kinnick Stadium renovation

The State Board of Regents Wednesday approved the 87-million dollar expansion of Kinnick Stadium at the University of Iowa. The renovation will be the largest such project in the athletic department’s history. Architect Kevin Munson told the regents the replacement of the old wooden seats in the south end of the stadium is one of the key features of the project.He says that will also include a plaza area to the south for fans to gather in before the games and at halftime. He says it will also be landscaped to provide a better front door to the campus. Munson says the seating in other areas of the stadium is also getting upgraded.He says that includes increased seat spacing on the east and west concourse. Not only will the seats be bigger, there’ll be other amenities as well.He says there’ll be more restrooms and concession stands as well as a new concourse for the south side of the stadium. The renovation will include a new press box that runs the length of the stadium on the west side of the stadium. That press box will include luxury suites priced between 45 and 85-thousand dollars, and have a capacity for 22-hundred people. Munson says they’re designing the new additions to fit in with the historic stadium, named for Iowa’s only Heisman Trophy winner, He says they’ll replicate the arch and brick theme of the current stadium. Site preparation will begin this summer, but the major construction won’t start until after this fall’s football season.