The new addition encloses the stadium into a bowl creating a new front door and plaza facing 17th Street. (Joe Hren WFIU/WTIU News)
The Indiana football team returns to Bloomington Saturday for their first home game after defeating FIU 38 to 28 last weekend.
Workers are busy completing the $48 million dollar south end zone addition to Memorial Stadium.
IU Athletic Director Fred Glass says the improvements are transformational.
“I don’t think it’s at all an overstatement to say that we will be opening a new Memorial Stadium this fall,” Glass says.
A new 91' by 42' LED video board looms above the south end zone. (Joe Hren, WFIU/WTIU News)
South End Zone
The new addition encloses the stadium into a bowl creating a new front door and plaza facing 17th Street.
The lower level houses an Excellence Academy that offers student athletes leadership, career and nutrition skills.
A new Hoosier Room overlooks the field providing athlete meals throughout the week and game day food for donors.
The new Hoosier Room overlooks the field from the south end zone. (Joe Hren, WFIU/WTIU News)
Knothole Park moves to the terrace level where kids can play football, take a 3-D selfie, get their face painted or munch on stadium food.
A new 91 by 42 foot LED video board looms from the top of the new addition. It’s more than double the size of the previous board.
Glass says they’ve also improved accessibility by adding seating platforms and ADA compliant restrooms.
The renovations decrease official seating capacity by about 300 seats from 52,929 to 52,656, but Glass says the goal was to keep capacity about the same.
IU Athletics Director Fred Glass announces changes to Memorial Stadium this year. (Joe Hren, WFIU/WTIU News)
Parking/Traffic
IU Athletics added a shuttle service to the stadium from Poplars parking garage and the Indiana Memorial Union.
Glass says motorists can expect all four lanes open for traffic on IN 37 and I-69 from Indianapolis to Bloomington. He says the announcement comes after speaking with transportation officials and Governor Eric Holcomb.
Glass says he wants to keep traffic flowing with prepaid parking passes. Order one before game day for a $5 discount.
Uniforms
Players are now equipped with a new Speed Flex Precision Fit customized helmet. IU staff says it’s the safest football helmet available. The helmet is red with variations made by decals. Another helmet color will be added next year.
IU will honor former head football coach Bill Mallory who passed away in May with a helmet sticker. Mallory is Indiana’s all-time winningest coach.
Football jerseys will bear “Indiana” across the front and no player’s names on the back to enforce team over self.
