Thursday, November 10, 2005

Contra Costa Times: Cal stadium plan has new twist

By Ann Tatko-Peterson

BERKELEY - Cal officials unveiled their renovation plans for Memorial Stadium on Thursday. Just one catch -- renovations to the actual stadium likely won't begin before 2008. Instead, phase one of the project calls for adding a student-athlete high-performance center along the outer rim of Memorial Stadium's west side, university officials announced at a news conference. The 132,500-square foot center will house the football team and 12 other sports. It will include a weight room, sports medicine center, coaches offices, as well as locker, meeting and equipment rooms, all at an estimated cost of $100 million to $125 million. That phase is scheduled to begin in December 2006 and completed before the 2008 football season. What it doesn't include is the bulk of upgrades in fan amenities, seats and seismic retrofitting inside the stadium itself. The university has no date set for that work, nor architectural renderings in hand or cost estimates. All of that will be part of the second phase, known as the "west side elevation." "We're addressing our immediate needs," Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour said, adding, "The master plan meets all of our long-term goals for renewal of Memorial Stadium."

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