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Tech continues fundraising as south end zone project begins
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- Tech continues fundraising as south end zone project begins
Texas Tech is taking some of the first steps this week in preparation for the $200 million football facilities project for which it announced plans in July.
Trumble Crane and Rigging lifted the Masked Rider statue from the Masker Rider Lobby in the Jones AT&T Stadium south end zone building, where the Grant Speed sculpture was placed in 1990. That happened on Wednesday. On Thursday night, the Double T scoreboard that's overlooked the stadium's south end zone since June 1978 was removed, also by crane.
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That doesn't mean the project is fully funded. In mid-August, Tech officials said they hoped to have $100 million in private gifts and pledges by the time the process began, adding that they would start right after the regular season ended regardless. They currently have $81 million in commitments, Tech senior associate athletics director Robert Giovannetti said.
The Double T scoreboard, installed in June 1978 at the south end of Jones Stadium, was removed by crane Thursday night. The portion of the scoreboard above the current south end zone building was successfully hoisted in one piece and placed onto a flatbed to be driven off site.
"That's not really as big a concern of mine," Tech senior associate athletics director Jonathan Botros said this week. "It just means we may pay a little more capitalized interest during the construction. The concern would be if we don't hit it [the $100 million target] at all — which we do not anticipate — by the time the project is complete, at which time Texas Tech will be purchasing the property back from Red Raider Facilities Foundation. The purchase price will be essentially the balance of the construction loan that we have."
Tech plans to complete the project before the start of the 2024 season.
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The project will include a four-level building in the south end zone of Jones AT&T Stadium, connecting via skybridge to the Sports Performance Center and the planned Womble Football Center, a two-level structure that will replace the current Football Training Facility as the team's day-to-day headquarters.
According to Tech's July 11 announcement, level one of the four-level building will house a 7,200-square-foot field-level club for game day viewing, locker rooms, press conference rooms and a recruiting lounge. Level two will feature loge boxes, as well as new entry points and concessions areas for fans. Level three will house coaches offices, and the top level will be premium suites.
Tech plans to use revenue from the new suites, club seats and loge boxes in paying off the $200 million.
The Double T scoreboard, overlooking the south end zone at Jones AT&T Stadium since June 1978, was removed on Thursday night. The 28,500-pound structure was successfully hoisted by crane and put onto a flatbed to be driven offsite.
Botros, the department's chief financial officer, said donor gifts will be used as much as possible during construction, and then he'll draw on the loan in the minimum amount needed.
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"And then at the end of the project, depending on the timing of gifts that come in, however much we owe on that construction loan is how much Texas Tech will purchase the property for," Botros said. "And we're going to take long-term bonds — either 20- or 30-year bonds — to pay that full balance. And then in order to pay back those bonds, we will use a combination of new premium revenue from the building, interest earning on gifts that were sitting in our accounts and then just general athletic operating revenue."
Tech has announced pledges of $25 million from Regent Cody Campbell, $20 million from Regent Dusty Womble and $10 million from former Tech player John Sellers and his wife Tracy. In response to an open-records request and subsequent interviews with the Avalanche-Journal, Tech officials have said they also have received separate pledges of $10 million, $5 million and $1.25 million from donors who have not been named publicly. As of mid-September, there were another dozen pledges in amounts ranging from $250,000 to $25,000.
Crews prepare to remove the Double T scoreboard at Jones AT&T Stadium. The initial attempt Thursday afternoon was delayed and the crane repositioned. The scoreboard was successfully lifted by crane and removed Thursday night.
When the south end zone building is complete, the Red Raiders' game-day locker room will be in the southeast corner of the stadium. The visitors' game-day locker room could be in the southwest or northeast corner of the stadium, Giovannetti said recently.
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Tech planned to remove the Double T scoreboard from the stadium on Thursday afternoon. The first attempt was delayed and the crane repositioned. Workers successfully hoisted it around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, keeping the scoreboard intact and lowering it onto a flatbed to be driven off site.
The Double T scoreboard has towered 60 feet above the stadium's south end zone for 45 seasons. The future of the 28,500-pound structure has not been determined, but the portion above the current south end zone building was removed in one piece.
Though the scoreboard has been said to be "filled with concrete," that's not correct, Giovannetti said. Tech officials who examined it this week in preparation for the removal said it had concrete in the base, up to the roof of the south end zone building in which it's anchored, but the visible part of the structure was supported by its frame and steel columns on the interior.
"It's not filled with concrete," Giovannetti said, "despite what others think."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech continues fundraising as south end zone project begins
