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Regents approve $135M-$150M plans for Kinnick upgrade, new dorm

The board met in Ames and rubber-stamped planning for UI's "efforts to recruit and retain top student-athletes."







Chad Leistikow, email@example.com Published 1:35 p.m. CT Aug. 5, 2015 | Updated 4:20 p.m. CT Aug. 5, 2015 
Iowa fans at Kinnick Stadium will get more breathing room in the North End Zone.(Photo: David Scrivner, Iowa City Press-Citizen)Buy Photo


AMES, Ia. âÂ The Iowa Board of Regents on Wednesday approved plans for $135 million to $150 million of upgrades at the University of Iowa that at its center would significantly improve amenities for the UIâs student-athletes and ticket-buying football fans.

Project planning was green-lit for improvements to Kinnick Stadiumâs North end zone that is likely to include more premium seating; construction of a suite-style residence hall on the doorstep of sports facilities; and construction of a new indoor track-and-field building west of Finkbine Golf Course.

The three are strategically connected at the hip, with the current indoor track in the Rec Building (located next door to Kinnick Stadium and the sprawling new Football Operations Center) occupying prime real estate that, according to notes provided to the Board of Regents, âis on a site being considered forâ the proposed $85 million residence hall.

Wednesdayâs authorization allows Iowa athletic director Gary Barta to consult with architects to map out execution of the first phase of a 10-year master plan unveiled last week to make improvements across all 24 university sports.

The headliner, though, is the athletic departmentâs biggest money machine: football.

Barta envisions creating more elbow room in the currently cramped North end zone, a project estimated at $35 million to $45 million to improve restrooms, concourses, concession and revenue-generating premium seats in a section of Kinnick thatâs been virtually untouched since 1983.

In an interview with The Des Moines Register, Barta didnât discount the possibility of building âupâ end-zone seating with an eye on keeping capacity near the current 70,585. He also could see enclosed suites wrapping from the 2005-renovated press box to the North end zone.

The what-can-be-done-for-$45-millionÂ phase begins now.

âItâs a tight footprint, so thatâs why we need to bring in experts who do this for a living to look at the structure and how much room we have,â said Barta, who has had projectÂ meetings in the lead-up to Wednesday with anticipation of Regents approval. âI think itâs still possible to keep it at 70,000 or higher. Thatâs the goal. But Iâm not going to make that goal supercede having a great fan experience.

âIâm going to challenge the architects to get us the improvements we need and get it to 70. I have no idea what itâll look like. But yes, Iâm open to whatever they come to us with that works.â

Barta did not reveal a time frame on completion of the project other than saying, âWe want to get going as fast as we can.â

The proposed dorm (which would house 500 to 600 beds, according to the UI's proposal) is on the fast track, too, with a high benefit for athletes, from first-year to graduate students. The dorm would include high-demand, suite style rooms â pods of four individual bedrooms surrounding a social space and kitchenette. This facility is anticipated to cost $32 million more than the UIâs recently completed 501-bed, $53 million Mary Louise Petersen Residence Hall of similar size.

That cost difference is chalked up to the larger room sizes and the greater dining needs of an athletic training table.

Regents President Bruce Rastetter pointed out that âwhile the cost per room may be higher, the revenue may also be higherâ compared with traditional two-beds-per-room setups. Of course, room costs are 100 percent covered by the athletic department for student-athletes on full scholarship.

âThe dorm is a student dormitory that will happen to house student-athletes,â Rastetter said.

NCAA rules mandate that at least 51 percent of every residence-hall floor be occupied by non-athletes. However, the new residence hallâs proposed location would offer by far the most convenient student housing for athletes â virtually a walk across the street to the football training facility, Duane Banks Field and Carver-Hawkeye Arena. In notes supplied to the Regents for review, the UI stated the new residence hall âwill aid in UI efforts to recruit and retain top student-athletes, returning students and will foster student academic success.â

Iowa hopes new ticket discounts will help fill Kinnick

Slater and Rienow Halls are the nearest existing dormitories to athletic facilities, between a half-mile and mile away â a tough walk in the dead of an IowaÂ winter.

âThere isnât a dorm on that side of the campus,â Rastetter said. âSo it just makes sense. Thatâs why we approved it.â

And thatâs why approval of the indoor track â that comes with a price tag of $15 million to $20 million â was important, too. If the current Rec Building requires demolition to accommodate the dorm, approving it now saves time later.

âThe fact that track was listed today was partly, if the consultants come back and tell us the best place to put the dorm is where the indoor track is, we just donât want to have to come back to the board a second time and hold things up,â Barta said.

Sports facility improvements at the UI donât require public funds. The self-sustaining athletic department â which projects $93.56 million in revenue for fiscal year 2016 â and private donations foot those bills. The residence hall, documents state, âwould be funded by dormitory revenue bonds and athletics department gifts and earnings.â

It all goes hand-in-hand. Also included on Bartaâs master plan to be accomplished by 2026 are construction of new baseball and softball stadiums, and improvements at Carver-Hawkeye Arenaâs video board, sound system, basketball court and concourse.

But Wednesday was an especially big day for Iowa football.

âI think itâs important to continue to enhance Kinnick Stadium,â said Rastetter, a noted supporter of the Hawkeyes. âItâs a special place.

âItâs good for the fan. â¦ Itâll make the stadium more of a modern stadium. Itâs good to spend football revenue dollars on football.â

Iowa eyeing Kinnick rehab, new dorm aimed at athletes