Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium, capacity 30,514 was built in 1950 and remains one of the most picturesque football facilities in America. A state-of-the-art $1 million artificial turf surface was installed in the summer of 2005 enhancing this breathtaking stadium, which sits between the Snowy Range of the Rocky Mountains to the West and the Laramie Range to the East. At an elevation of 7,220 feet War Memorial is the highest Division I football stadium in America.
Coming in the Fall of 2010 will be the addition of luxury suites and club seating in War Memorial Stadium. Construction will begin following completion of the 2008 season. That project will be completed prior to the start of the 2010 season.
With the crowd noise, elevation and outstanding Cowboy teams, Wyoming's home field has long been one of the most feared places to play in college football. The Cowboys have won over 68 percent of their games at War Memorial Stadium. The stadium is no stranger on the national scene, as it has hosted the likes of Kansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Virginia since 2000. In 2009, the Cowboys will host the Texas Longhorns in War Memorial. "The War" opened on Sept. 16, 1950, with a 61-13 win over Montana State, followed by an official dedication the following week on Sept. 23 versus nationally-ranked Baylor. The Cowboys won that game 7-0.
Some of the great Wyoming coaches to walk the sidelines in War Memorial Stadium, include Bowden Wyatt, Phil Dickens, Bob Devaney, Lloyd Eaton, Fritz Shurmur, Fred Akers, Pat Dye, Paul Roach, Joe Tiller and Joe Glenn. Former Cowboy head coaches Wyatt, Devaney and Dye have all since been inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame.
SUITES TO PROVIDE NEW REVENUE FOR WYOMING
November 13, 2008
Copyright 2008 MediaVentures
Laramie, Wyo. - University of Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman said new luxury suites
and club seating at War Memorial Stadium "will generate a minimum of $600,000 annually in new
money - ongoing."
The initial contract in the $26.4 million east stadium prestige seating and grandstand
renovation project will be up for approval soon by the UW Board of Trustees.
Burman said interest in the luxury suites has been "very high" and he expects the 10 suites
each will be leased for $40,000 per year by the time they open in the fall of 2010. A slight discount will be given in exchange for long-term leases with pre-payment, he said.
He also is confident the 250 club seats will be taken for $2,500 each per year. These seats will
include "a first-class lounge area with excellent food," he added. The athletic department "will use our Priority Point system" to allocate first choices on the club seats, he said. The system is based on the amount of money donated to UW athletics and/or the Cowboy Joe Club.
Burman said UW's football stadium "is in desperate need of upgrades" and he predicted the
cost of building a new stadium would be $200 million.
"When you have the money - which Wyoming does - you better invest wisely, you better
maintain important facilities," he said.
The luxury suites/club lounge structure on the east side of the stadium will cost at least $13.6
million plus a significant portion of $5.4 million in design fees and contingencies. The remainder of the east stadium project includes more than $5 million for securing the stadium structure and enhancing concessions and rest rooms. It also includes $1.2 million in entryway/lobby enhancement and more than $3 million for handicapped access.
Approximately one-third of the east stadium project will be paid for by gifts to the athletics
department, with the rest coming from state funds and athletics revenues.
UW's budget request to the 2009 Legislature will request authority to spend $8 million on
renovation of the lower west grandstand and $2.75 million to pave the east stadium parking lot and address drainage issues. The request will ask for $3 million in athletics facilities state matching funds to spur $3 million in private donations, with the remainder to come from revenue bonds.
Burman said the renovations to the concessions areas under the lower west side should bring
an increase in concessions income of more than 50 percent. He said UW athletics conducted an
extensive market survey a year ago that showed football fans felt UW was not meeting their needs
as to concessions, restrooms and other amenities. (Casper Star Tribune)
November 14, 2008
Sampson Construction Awarded Contract for
War Memorial Stadium Enhancement Project
UW hopes to complete the east stadium project in time for the 2010 season.
LARAMIE, Wyo. - On Friday, November 14, the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees awarded Sampson Construction the contract as "construction manager at risk" (CMAR) for the War Memorial Stadium enhancement and prestige seating project.
Sampson Construction of Cheyenne and Lincoln, Neb., could begin the project to construct the east side suites and stadium renovations as early as next month.
Sampson Construction's proposal was lower than that from the company offering the fastest completion, but was 15 percent higher than the lowest proposal, which involved the longest completion time.
"The submittal by Sampson Construction indicated greater experience with this type of project, and the personnel to be assigned were more experienced," says Phill Harris, UW Vice President for Administration. "The proposal also was more fully developed and indicated a better construction process and time line than the other submissions."
Sampson Construction's proposal included a basic fee of $45,120 for preconstruction services, $1,485,120 for construction services and 584 calendar days for construction completion.
The hiring of the company is the first step in a plan to spend about $35 million on War Memorial Stadium and its adjacent parking lot during the next few years.
The prestige seating includes 10 suites, president's and athletics director's suites with 30 seats each, an interior club lounge and enclosed club seating for 260.
The remaining portion of the estimated $26.4 million east stadium project includes more than $5 million for shoring up the safety in the upper concourse, and enhancing concessions and restroom areas. Another $1.2 million is targeted for an entryway/lobby enhancement and more than $3 million for handicapped access.
Two-thirds of the project's cost will come from public tax monies or athletic revenues and one-third from private donations. UW hopes to complete the east stadium project in time for the 2010 season.
Harris says UW started a set of planning processes more than five years ago, which included academics, support services and capital facilities. When those were in progress, the UW Board of Trustees agreed that a strategic plan for athletics also was needed.
That plan included substantial modifications to War Memorial Stadium, paving the stadium parking lot and constructing an indoor tennis facility.
"Recognizing that the state should not pay for all the modifications, a matching funds program was developed, adopted and funded in 2004," Harris says. "The legislation included specific references to stadium improvements."
The UW Athletics Department and the UW Foundation worked to secure donor pledges for the $16 million athletics facilities plan, which was successfully concluded last year.
