Houston Students Approve Fee Increase To Fund New Football Stadium, Renovate Basketball Arena

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By Jeremy Mauss - Newsdesk contributor

The Houston Cougars football team will have a new football stadium and a renovated basketball arena for when they head to the Big East.

Feb 3, 2012 - Plans have had a $160 million plan in place for the Houston Cougars to build a new football stadium and upgrade Hofheinz Pavilion since June of 2010. Eighteen months later the plan is moving forward as the students passed a referendum approving a $45 per semester fee increase to help raise funds to begin the upgrades.

Houston has already raised $60 million in private donations and they are seeking another $20 million in naming rights. Combine that amount with the student fee increases which will raise approximately $3 million per year and it will now allow construction for the football stadium to begin at the end of the 2012 season.

The football stadium is going to seat 40,000 fans with an expandable option to be able to increase that number to 50,000 seats which will put them on par with the rest of the Big East.

While the main cost goes to building a new football stadium the student fee increases will allow the renovations of the basketball arena to begin sooner than later, and with the move to the Big East both stadiums will be up to par with those schools come 2013.

An artist rendering of the stadium projections can be found here.