By the start of the 2016 college football season, Vaught-Hemingway stadium is going to have a whole new look and feel to it, and athletic director Ross Bjork is calling the stadium improvements the new "front door of athletics" for Ole Miss.
“The campus of Ole Miss is incredibly unique, everything from the architecture, to the campus layout, to immaculate landscaping, to green spaces like the Grove and the Circle, they are all key factors for why we are voted the most beautiful campus year in and year out." he noted during the press conference yesterday.
“The location of the front door of athletics not only connects us to the heart of campus, but builds upon that beauty, while also serving as a functional and effective way to continue to provide Rebel fans with an unmatched game day experience.”
The plan is to be executed in two phases. The first phase includes an expansion of the South end zone which will add 30 luxury suites, 770 club level seats, and will be wrapped up by the start of the 2015 season. The second phase of the project will be an expansion of the North end zone that will include new brick and stone exterior to match campus architecture, as well as a 104 ft x 49 ft video board, and two additional 30ft x 50ft video boards, one on each side of the South end zone tower.
Also among the changes is a renewed focus on the fan experience, details of which include an expansion of the student section that will go from a capacity of just over 8,000 to the capability to hold over 10,000 students, as well as the addition of 185 new toilets and 56 new concession points.
See some of the renderings of the planned improvements below, and watch Ross Bjork's presser on the improvements as well.
