Thanks a lot Mother Nature! TCU’s $100 million stadium expansion delayed due to rain
Call it the 2020 project.
TCU’s $100 million east-side expansion of Amon G. Carter Stadium won’t be complete until the start of the 2020 season, TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati informed expansion donors in an email. He later announced it on social media.
“Obviously we are very disappointed and frustrated by the weather and construction delays,” Donati told the Star-Telegram. “We looked at every option to open the new premium suites and club for our donors but given the condition we were told it would be in, we collectively felt that our donors deserved a much better game day experience.
“The best decision was to wait until the space is complete.”
Donati and the expansion committee reached the decision to delay unveiling the project until next season after meeting with Turner Construction officials earlier this month. Donati had expressed optimism last spring that the project would be ready for the Texas game on Oct. 26.
But the majority of construction projects in the DFW area have been delayed substantially after historic rainfall last fall and winter, and TCU finds itself in that predicament.
TCU does not want to rush the project and force opening it too soon. Donati said the game day experience would be “severely limited” if they went down that route such as elevators not being serviceable and temporary food and alcohol service.
The expansion project delay affects about 2,000 fans, and Donati said the athletic department is working with those fans on ticket packages for the upcoming season.
The continued construction also means a similar pregame setup as last year. TCU will again have a “pardon our dust” type season with Frog Alley remaining in the same spot as last season.
The good news for TCU fans is that the new video board above the north end zone grandstands will be installed by the first game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Aug. 31. That is part of the project that should enhance the game day atmosphere for the majority of fans.
The $100 million project broke ground in June 2018, and will include more than 1,000 club seats, 22 luxury suites, 48 loge boxes and two private clubs when complete. There will also be a 100-foot outdoor balcony overlooking Frog Alley, the TCU campus and downtown Fort Worth.
Amon G. Carter Stadium went through a $164 million rebuild in 2012, which coincided with the Horned Frogs’ debut season in the Big 12.
This story was originally published July 25, 2019 at 8:13 PM.