Rice Board Of Trustees Approved $44.5 Million For Football Stadium Renovations

Rice has received approval from their board of trustees to move forward on renovations for Rice Stadium. The center of this project is an 80,000-square foot complex which will be built on the south side of the stadium, will include training and locker rooms, a sports medicine center and offices for coaching staff. The expected cost of this project is $44.5 million and it will be completely funded through fundraising as the school does not want to incur any debt or raise tuition to cover this project. 

Rice has invested in other sports and has seen results because of that commitment and now they are making the same investment for the football team:

"We've seen the benefits of recent investments in the basketball, baseball, volleyball and track facilities," said Rice board of trustee chair Jim Crownover, "and Rice's football program is in line for similar support from the many alumni and fans who value what this means for the student-athletes and the university."

Rice athletic director Rick Greenspan wants to dispel rumors that they are not committed to football, and he hopes this stadium renovations will show that the school is fully committed to their football program.

There is no timetable for when the project will begin, but once construction starts it will not affect any of the 47,000 seats and will take approximately nine months to complete.