ASU unveils Stadium renovation plans

The University has committed to spend $210 million on the project, which will over time be paid for by revenue collected as a result of its Stadium District.

ASU also announced that it is working to secure $50 million in private donations to complete the project.

There will be no public financing element of the stadium and ASU will continue to play in the facility throughout the construction, which could begin as soon as the spring of 2015. A separate project not included in the Stadium District involves taking down eight upper deck sections of the north end zone beginning this month, which will remove 5,700 seats.

"Arizona State University takes pride in its status as an elite institution with an elite athletics program," ASU President Michael Crow said. "Sun Devil Stadium has been a landmark in the Valley for the last 56 years. The plan to renovate Sun Devil Stadium gives ASU an opportunity to increase our investment in the community and to set the standard for collegiate athletics facilities. We will need philanthropic support from our community in order to provide features that will take the game experience to a new level."

ASU's updated plans do not include the shade canopy that was part of the initial rendering released in 2012. That would have cost $132 million and an ASU official said fans overwhelmingly supported other expenditures as priorities in their feedback to the school over the last year.

When complete, the renovated stadium will include a "scrim" board which is believed to be the first of its kind nationally in a college stadium project. It will allow ASU to play images on the entire exterior skin of the stadium and on interior surfaces and finishes.

The renovated stadium is expected to seat an estimated 60,000 fans, a reduction of the current capacity of 71,706. Students will be moved to a permanent structure in the south end zone that will replace the temporary bleachers and be larger, spanning from the field to Carson Center.

Plans call for a student lounge and air conditioned club area. The entire concourse area will be raised and re-built with new restrooms. and more concessions areas and restrooms.

In the north end zone there will be a 70,000 square foot pavilion from which fans will be able to watch a double sided large high definition screen that will go where the upper deck seating is being torn down.

"Sun Devil Stadium is the cornerstone of the legacy and tradition of Arizona State football," ASU head coach Todd Graham said. "It was important to keep intact that same tunnel that Pat Tillman ran onto the field from on game day. This venue will blend that tradition with all the elements of a top-tier facility and put us at the top of the league."