Rutgers Board of Governors Approves Stadium Expansion
Jan 29 | Football
NEW BRUNSWICK,
'The continued success of the Scarlet Knights football program is an important goal for the university,' said Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick. 'Academics and athletics reinforce each other and
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The achievements on the field have contributed to greater interest by prospective students, a higher academic profile among admitted students and unprecedented fundraising for academic programs. In 2007, Rutgers received more than 32,000 applications from prospective first-year students, a record number; saw a 65-percent increase in the number of prospective students and their families taking the admissions tour; and collected more than $100 million in cash donations, a 31-percent increase over the previous year.
The university will finance the majority of the project through $72 million in bonds that will be repaid through increased ticket revenues generated by the expansion. The remaining $30 million will come from private contributions. New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine and state Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak announced in December that they would lead the fundraising campaign.
The expansion project is self-supporting. No public money will be used to fund the expansion and the project will have no impact on tuition or academic programs.
Construction is expected to begin shortly with approximately 1,000 new mezzanine seats added to the existing structure by the start of the 2008 season. Another 1,000 bench seats will be added to the north end zone and 12,000 new seats will be built as part of a newly constructed south end zone section. Plans also call for a new entrance off
