Syracuse University's renovation timeline has shifted, according to comments athletic director John Wildhack made on ESPN Radio on Tuesday.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Syracuse University has changed the timeline on its Carrier Dome renovation project and the athletic department will vacate the Carrier Dome on March 1, 2020, the school's athletic director John Wildhack told ESPN Radio's Brent Axe on Tuesday.
Syracuse University Senior Associate Vice President of University Communications Sarah Scalese said in a statement that the timeline for the renovation remains in flux.
Wildhack did not specifically say that the Dome wouldn't be usable at all after March 1 but, if it is not, and if the date remains set, then the lacrosse programs would feel the biggest brunt of burden from the construction project. More than a month of the lacrosse schedule would be pushed outside of the Carrier Dome.
The Syracuse men's and women's basketball teams would also be forced to close their seasons with road games, although the number of games impacted would be limited. The women's team would not be able to host the NCAA Women's Tournament if they earned a top four seed, as they did this year. Syracuse's commencement, which is also traditionally held in the Carrier Dome, would likely need to be held elsewhere also.
The statement provided to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard did not address those potential issues.
The timeline proved by Wildhack indicated a change from when the school initially announced its plans in May of 2018.
In the official press release announcing the project, Syracuse University said that it was still working through a timeline of the project and that it hoped the impact on its teams would be minimal.
At a press conference later that day, officials indicated that work on the roof would not begin until May 2020 and that the school's athletic teams would not be impacted by the renovation.
"We've worked really, really closely with Pete," Wildhack said at the time. "It's not going to disrupt the football schedule, the basketball schedule for the men's or the women's program or either the men's or women's lacrosse program. ... We didn't want to do anything that puts any of our teams at a competitive disadvantage. ... We spent a lot of time working on defining a timeline so that those five sports are not impacted."
The announced improvements include a new fixed roof, a vertically hung scoreboard, sound and lighting systems by 2020. Other improvement are scheduled to be in place by 2022, including air conditioning, improved restrooms and concession spaces.
Syracuse's men's basketball program generated the third-most money of any school in the country.