Question: How much will the renovation of Camp Randall Stadium cost and how will it be paid for?
Answer: An economic feasibility study put together by Arthur Andersen of Chicago put the price tag at $99.7 million. Of that, $36.35 million is projected to come from revenue generated by the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department from the leasing of 96 suites and 900 club seats; $36.35 million will come from a new, comprehensive preferential seating plan that incorporates UW football with men's and women's basketball and men's hockey and will be introduced in February; $17 million will come from private gifts; and $10 million will be requested from the state. In all, 90 percent of the renovation will be financed by the UW Athletic Department and private sources.
Q: What has to happen for the project to get started?
A: The UW Athletic Board gave unanimous approval at a special meeting Tuesday. A committee of the UW Board of Regents will consider the plan at a meeting Thursday with the full Board of Regents expected to act Friday. Then it would go to the State Building Commission, chaired by Gov. Tommy Thompson, and then to the State Legislature.
Q: Provided the plan is approved, what is the timetable?
A: Work on the three-phase project would begin after the last home game of the 2001 season. Barring the unforeseen, it would be completed in time for the start of the 2004 season.
Q: Will there be a lot of changes?
A: Yes, and dramatic ones at that. Three levels of suites will be added to the East Side. The track around the field will be eliminated, as will the obstructed-view seats nearest the field. The Southeast corner will be enclosed with new seats and a four-story office building to house UW Athletic Department administrators, coaches and support staff. There will be significant upgrades in restroom fixtures for women (212 to 496) and men (445 to 694). Disabled seating will triple to 300 and seven elevators will be installed. A new sound system, scoreboard and video replay screen will be added. In all, there will be approximately 5,500 additional seats, pushing capacity to about 82,500.
Q: Why now?
A: Start with the fact the 83-year-old facility is falling apart and is ill-equipped to safely and effectively manage such large crowds. Customer complaints about lack of restrooms, disabled seating accommodations and narrow concourse areas have become routine. With a season-ticket waiting list of 5,000, there is a demand for more seats. And with three Big Ten Conference titles and three Rose Bowl wins in the 1990s, the Badgers are regarded as one of the top attractions in all of college football.
Q: How much will fans be inconvenienced during the project?
A: That depends on your definition of ``inconvenience.'' Al Fish, the UW associate athletic director in charge of capital projects, said a vast majority of the seats will be unaffected. But maneuvering around the stadium will present a series of challenges that will change as the project moves along. Fish said every effort will be made to make things flow as smoothly as possible.
Q: Have the neighbors been kept up to speed? If so, what has been their reaction?
A: Fish said City Council representatives with constituents in the area have been consulted. While there are concerns like light pollution and increased noise, Fish said they are ``pretty supportive'' of the project because it will address the many aesthetic blemishes around Camp Randall.
Q: As was the case with Lambeau Field in Green Bay, did planners consider building a brand new Camp Randall complex?
A: Yes, briefly. But not only were the logistics nightmarish, the price tag would have been in the $300 million range.
Q: Will ticket prices go up to help pay for this?
A: No, not for a while anyway. When the UW Athletic Department unveiled its five-year financial plan in 1999, one provision was that it planned to hold the price of tickets at $28 through the 2003 season. The price will go to $32 in 2004.
