A.D. Mike Bobinski confident south end zone, tunnel will be ready for Purdue opener
Hear that? It’s the sound of construction work going on at Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium. The grande dame of Boilermaker football is being transformed before our very eyes. You can see it in the south end zone and northeast corner of the stadium.
“It’s exciting to me to see the work that’s going on,” said Purdue AD Mike Bobinski. “They’re hard at it.”
It’s full steam ahead for general contractor AECOM Hunt/Harmon on the $45.4 million renovation of Ross-Ade Stadium, which opened in 1924 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary this season. It’s the first major renovation of Ross-Ade since 2001-03, when the major focal points were a new press box/suites and expanded concourse.
When fans return to Ross-Ade Stadium for the first game of the 2023 season on September 2nd vs. Fresno State, they’ll be greeted by a reincarnation of the south end zone that will feature a dedicated student section and seating for the marching band. The project will connect the east and west sides of the stadium.
The completion of the bowl will feature an expansive concourse. The west wedge of the south end zone will also feature a new premium experience for fans. And there also is this: A Tyler Trent student entrance area, standing seats, patio and deck areas, rail seating and enhanced concessions.
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Work also is underway on a tunnel being built between the Kozuch Football Performance Complex and Ross-Ade Stadium, allowing players a dramatic—and safe—entry onto the field.
The south end zone and tunnel projects are expected to be ready for the aforementioned Fresno State game.
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“I see lots of things going on already to give me confidence that that can happen,” said Bobinski.
However …
“When you start digging underneath a roadway and all the engineers have said ‘Hey, there’s nothing down (there), we’re not going to run into anything, there’s no this, that’ … I’ll believe that when I see it. But I’m hopeful.”
The final piece of the renovation project is repurposing a Purdue team store in the north end zone parking lot into a dining facility for athletes. But it won’t be ready until January 2024.
“I think it was just supply chain lead time issues with kitchen equipment and other things that are just going to push that back a little bit,” said Bobinski. “But that’s not critical to pulling off the football season. That’s an important part of our future, but it’s not something that’s game day critical.
“And so focusing the attention on making sure those game day related pieces are in place is the way Hunt’s approached this. And I think that’s the only way you get a chance to get it done in such an aggressive timeline.”
