What:
Southern Methodist University (Gerald J. Ford Stadium)
- New home of the Mustangs
- First new Division I college football stadium in over three years
- Football returns to the SMU campus after years of playing in the Cotton Bowl
When: Home Opener Sept. 2, 2000, vs. Kansas Jayhawks
By The Numbers:
32,000 seats in a horseshoe-shaped stadium (expandable to 45,000)
94,787 sq.ft. (8,806 m2) of bricks used in construction (more than 2 acres/0.8 ha)
23 luxury suites
260,000 cu.yd. (198,800 cu.m.) of earth excavated
Construction Cost: US $43 million
Challenges:
Remember the past, celebrate the future! Create a stadium for the 21st century that blends into the context of the SMU campus and pays homage to a legendary football program.
Private Tours:
Ellerbe Becket, the firm that designed the Gerald J. Ford Stadium and Paul B. Loyd All-Sports Center, is offering private tours for journalists prior to the season-opener.
