According to some, Colorado State is a darkhorse candidate for the Big 12’s latest expansion endeavor. To others, they are the longest of longshots.
Regardless of where their home is conference-wise in 2017, they’ll be in a new physical home as their construction project is right on schedule.
In December of 2014, CSU’s Board of Governors approved an on-campus stadium for the football program. The $220 million stadium is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2017 season opener, and on Tuesday the university announced in a release that the project is “halfway to history” as the final piece of structural steel was put in place.
“The thing about this project that I’m so proud of is that this facility symbolizes Colorado State University,” CSU president Tony Frank said in a statement. “This is a university that holds itself accountable for excellence. This stadium really symbolizes that. Thanks for allowing us to, within a year from now, say to our football team, ‘Welcome home.’...
“What a transformational moment it will be to bring football back to campus.”
When the stadium is complete, it will mark the first time that CSU has played a football game on its campus since 1968. The stadium will also bear the name of one of its legends, Sonny Lubick, thanks to an anonymous $20 million gift.
The release stated that "[m]uch of the stadium’s exterior has been completed even though ground was broken less than a year ago.” The new stadium will hold in excess of 40,000 fans when completed; the official capacity for their current home, located four miles off the main campus, is 32,500.
For comparison’s sake, TCU and Baylor have the lowest seating capacity in the Big 12 at around 45,000. Six others are 61,500 or less.