SAN FRANCISCO – The University of California, Davis heralds its emergence into Division I football with its new, state-of-the-art Aggie Stadium. The football season’s first home game on September 1 will be the first game in the new stadium and the team’s first’ever game as part of Division I college football, a goal that has been years in the making. Aggie Stadium, designed by Ellerbe Becket and built by Brown Construction, is the university’s newest and largest multi-use athletics facility, the most advanced facility in the greater Sacramento region and the crowning jewel for the Aggies’ intercollegiate athletics program, which was an NCAA Division II powerhouse before beginning a four-year reclassification to Division I.
“The transition is over and we say goodbye fondly to a rich and glorious Division II period in our history,” said Greg Warzecka, director of athletics for UC Davis. “The top-notch Aggie Stadium both celebrates a new era in UC Davis football and prepares us to meet the strict guidelines and rigorous competition of Division I football.”
Featuring fixed seating on both the east and west sides of the stadium and grass berms behind each endzone, the stadium will seat 10,743 fans. A mammoth Daktronics scoreboard measuring 50 feet wide by nearly 42 feet tall and featuring a high-resolution video display brings fans close to every play. A high-tech press box features four radio and television booths, seating for nearly 20 media members, and includes a stadium clubroom on the concourse level. Surrounding buildings in the 20-acre complex provide team rooms with more than 100 lockers, a ticket office, retail space, 32 concession points of sale and other amenities. Portable concessions on the concourse walkway surrounding the field will allow fans to never miss a play when getting a snack during the game.
“The design vision is to create a 'stadium in a park' that is impressive while also integrated with the landscape and surrounding academic buildings as an extension of the school’s unique and beautiful arboretum,” said William D. Crockett, director of sports architecture for Ellerbe Becket. “Strategically built with excellent sightlines from any seat, the stadium’s earth-sculpted design offers presence and impact while maintaining the gesture of the rolling hills around it, which provide lawn seating and picnic areas for fans to create new traditions around this winning team.”
The only new collegiate stadium to open this year, the $31 million Aggie Stadium was constructed in just 20 months on 20 acres, using 6,000 cubic yards of concrete and 104,000 square feet of Sportexe monofilament synthetic playing surface. Approximately 180,000 cubic yards of soil was moved from the site to create the 22-foot slope down from the concourse level to the playing field. In addition to being home to the new Division I-level Aggies, the stadium will also serve UC Davis’ women’s lacrosse team and is expected to become a magnet for many regional high school and college athletic events. Construction of the facility began in 2005 and was funded from the student-approved Facilities and Campus Enhancement Initiative (F.A.C.E.).
The Aggies, 6-5 last year for their 37th consecutive winning season, will open the season at the September 1 game against Western Washington. Aggie Stadium's official dedication will take place on October 13 at the homecoming game against long-time rivals Cal Poly. Beginning this season, the Aggies will be eligible to compete for an at-large berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. UC Davis returns 46 letterwinners, including 14 starters, from last year’s squad, which won its final two games to secure its winning season. The Aggies finished the year ranked 24th by coaches in the College Sporting News poll and were No. 29 by The Sports Network. They reached No. 16 in both polls during the season.
An innovator since its founding in 1909, Ellerbe Becket is a leader in architecture, interiors, engineering and the construction industry, with office locations worldwide.
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