The hulking, yellow Kobelco rock breaker punched the first hole in the façade of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium's west side tower at 10:22 a.m. Monday.
It and three other Priestly Demolition, Inc.-operated machines spent the rest of the day chipping away at the structure, signaling the commencement of Phase 2 of the three-phase, $220 million renovation project of the University of Memphis' 59-year-old home football venue. During the next three weeks, according to interim athletic director (and deputy AD) Jeff Crane, the majority of the west side of the stadium will come down.
“What a great day,” Crane said in his opening remarks. “Today is about an investment in the university, an investment in our football program and an investment in our city. A lot to be excited about today.”
Dozens of athletic department employees and administrators joined Crane on Monday, as did Memphis Mayor Paul Young, AutoZone Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart and executives from project partners Barton Malow, Grinder Taber Grinder and MFA Program Management. [Commercial Appeal]
Ever since it became apparent that West Virginia — along with everyone else in the Big 12 and beyond — was going to have to find a way to come up with $22 million a year to satisfy the revenue sharing settlement that now awaits court approval, Athletic Director Wren Baker has been trying to figure out where that money would come from.
He crunched the numbers and came up with a “suite” idea.
With not much expense meat on the bone to trim, he decided that one of the major approaches the Mountaineers’ athletic department would have to take to raise revenue was to add suites in Milan Puskar Stadium.
In truth, Milan Puskar Stadium is one of the best facilities in the Big 12. A ranking of the league’s football stadiums by clutchpoints.com last month had Mountaineer Field ranked third in the conference behind Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City and Oklahoma State’s Boone Pickens Stadium.
Puskar Stadium was listed ahead of TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth and Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. [The Weirton Daily Times]
The Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces today break ground for the construction of a state-of-the-art aquatics center at Southridge Park that will include a swimming pool and a splash pad integrated with a recreation center that will provide multipurpose and program rooms, a gym, and restrooms with showers and lockers for the community to enjoy.
“We’re thrilled that this facility will bring residents together to cool off, exercise, and socialize,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Tragically this area has experienced a high drowning rate, and so I’m especially excited about this new pool complex, which will serve as a perfect venue for expanding the county’s swim safety programs.”
The park, which is located in the South Miami Heights community, currently consists of passive and active play areas, such as a 3,000-seat stadium with a synthetic running track, playground, open areas, and a multipurpose field. [CNW]
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