SF Chronicle: Cal's stadium work remains on schedule

Jake Curtis, Chronicle Staff Writer

The first phase of Cal's three-phase stadium renovation project remains on schedule, with construction set to begin Dec. 2, pending approval by the UC Board of Regents in November.  Phase I calls for the construction of the Student Athlete High-Performance Center adjacent of Memorial Stadium. Cal has raised about $95 million of the $125 million required to begin work on the two-story structure, which will house locker rooms, coaches' offices, weight rooms and a study center. Football coach Jeff Tedford had said Cal needed such a facility, and the administration made a commitment to provide it.

Cal published a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) in the spring and is addressing issues raised in response. Athletic director Sandy Barbour acknowledged some representatives of the City of Berkeley have voiced concerns about the project, but she is confident Cal will satisfy those concerns.  The DEIR as well as the plans and financing for the center then must be approved by the UC regents at their Nov. 15-16 meetings. If approval is granted and the $125 million is raised, Cal can begin building, with a target date of Dec. 2.  Construction of the performance center is scheduled to take about two years, but as soon as construction begins, Cal will develop a fundraising plan and a seating-plan design for Phases II and III, which are the seismic retrofitting and renovation of Memorial Stadium.

Phase II deals with work of the west side of the stadium, and Phase III the east side. Stadium renovation will take about three years, but Cal is expected to be able to play all its home games at Memorial Stadium during construction.  All three phases could be completed within five years, a timetable Barbour calls "ambitious" but not impossible.   Cal's project differs from the $100 million renovation of Stanford Stadium that was completed in 10 months, in large part because Cal is a public institution.  In July, Cal hired Jim Bartko as its senior associate athletic director for development to head up fundraising. While at Oregon, Bartko led funding efforts for the $91 million renovation of Autzen Stadium and developed strong ties with Nike boss and prominent Oregon donor Phil Knight.