Quote:The school is still in the planning stage right now but did release renderings of a new Skybox Club and noted plans for better concourses, improved restroom access and more. Seating is another issue that will be upgraded, which Heeke noted was a bit of an issue considering the first 30 rows of the west side are actually part of the original construction of Arizona Stadium from the 1920’s.

So yeah, some upgrades need to happen.

It’s still far too early to put an exact price on the renovation but the early estimates are in the $100-150 million range. Ideally plans will be finalized over the coming months, bids will go out shortly thereafter and construction can begin at some point after the 2020 season wraps up. That would leave some inconveniences for the 2021 campaign for the Wildcats but we’re sure the fans would take them in order to have a nice new structure built in time for the 2021 season.

https://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.co...22-season/

The tough part is that they can't leave the stadium for a season during construction. Cal and UW both played a home football season elsewhere during stadium renovation, but that's not an option in the Tucson area.

(06-28-2019 06:31 PM)Wedge Wrote:  The tough part is that they can't leave the stadium for a season during construction. Cal and UW both played a home football season elsewhere during stadium renovation, but that's not an option in the Tucson area.

It would be neat to creatively solve this problem by being a "road warrior" team for a year by playing home games at neutral sites while the bulk of stadium renovations take place. They could play their home games in cities fairly close to Tucson that would bring attention and be fun for alumni and for students who could travel by bus or other means. Some obvious places that would not get the rest of the PAC 12 too riled up are San Diego, Las Vegas, El Paso (Sun Bowl), Albuquerque when UNM is out of town, and Phoenix on a weekend when Arizona State is on the road.

I attended a bowl game there a few years back and thought it really needed an upgrade back then.

A realistic scenario is to play home games in Phoenix at the Cardinals stadium. Arizona has enough alumni and fans in the Valley of the Sun to attract a good crowd and Tucson is not that far away for their fans to make the trip to Glendale.

Maybe Arizona State can let them play at Sun Devil Stadium when they’re on the road.

(06-30-2019 10:30 AM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  A realistic scenario is to play home games in Phoenix at the Cardinals stadium. Arizona has enough alumni and fans in the Valley of the Sun to attract a good crowd and Tucson is not that far away for their fans to make the trip to Glendale.

Maybe Arizona State can let them play at Sun Devil Stadium when they’re on the road.

If the folks in Tucson are willing to ignore parochialism for a season, playing games in the Phoenix area is an option. It's 6 home games. State Farm Stadium is an obvious option if the price is right. If they are willing to play in a baseball stadium, Chase Field is also an option. There is already a bowl game there.

I think Arizona playing home games at ASU is a bridge too far, though. They're not going to want to play in their archrival's stadium.

With that said, I would expect them to play in a construction zone for a year. It's only 6 games. There is a lot of inconvenience, but it keeps the games local.

(06-30-2019 06:00 PM)johnintx Wrote:  If the folks in Tucson are willing to ignore parochialism for a season, playing games in the Phoenix area is an option.

Not a good option. The vast majority of their season ticket holders live in the Tucson area and would be pissed at having a full season of home games more than 100 miles away. A big chunk of those season ticket holders would non-renew, and they wouldn't get all of them back.

Not at all comparable to Washington playing a season 6 miles away from their home stadium or Cal playing a season 12 miles away.