‘The Bachelor’ host helps unveil TCU football stadium’s east-side expansion virtually
Chris Harrison described it as “the most dramatic ribbon-cutting ever.”
With the coronavirus pandemic scrapping all plans for an in-person ceremony, TCU tabbed Harrison — who knows plenty of drama as host of “The Bachelor” franchise — to narrate its virtual unveiling of the new east-side expansion project at Amon G. Carter Stadium this week.
Harrison, who is the father of an incoming TCU freshman, gladly accepted the role.
“Chris has been really supportive of TCU,” athletic director Jeremiah Donati said. “We asked if he’d be willing to do this and he was wonderful in giving us his time and energy. We’re really grateful to him for participating.”
The five-minute video, which also features the voice of the Horned Frogs’ Brian Estridge, takes viewers inside the $113 million project designed for today’s sports fans.
The 75,000-square foot feature includes more than 1,000 club seats, 22 luxury suites, 48 loge boxes and two private clubs when complete. There is also a 100-foot outdoor balcony overlooking Frog Alley, the TCU campus and downtown Fort Worth.
TCU hoped to have the expansion project done in time for the 2019 season, but it was pushed back a season due to multiple weather delays. Then the planned unveiling ceremony during TCU’s spring football game was canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Now the school is just hoping it’s able to use it for the upcoming season.
As of now, the state is allowing sporting venues such as Amon G. Carter Stadium to hold up to 50% capacity.
Donati chuckled when asked if the new addition has enough space for fans to socially distance.
“Yeah, it’s a large space,” Donati said. “We’ve already started looking through to make sure we can pull that off with what seating looks like and all the rest of it.”
Donati said the early response since sharing the virtual video has been “overwhelmingly positive.”
“I think our team came up with a really creative, fun and safe way to engage our donors,” Donati said. “We’ve cut the ribbon, so now it’s open. When we can get there and play, the space is beautiful. It’s a world-class state-of-the-art facility that we’ll be able to enjoy for years and years to come.”
Ticket matters
As far as the upcoming football season, Donati is hopeful it is played and it is played with fans in the stands. But the university is taking its time as to how it’ll handle a limited capacity crowd.
They are working with state and local health officials to ensure a proper plan is in place to ensure the safest environment for fans and players. They also continue to formulate the fairest possible way to distribute tickets if the capacity limits keep some season-ticket holders from attending games.
“We’re modeling a number of different ways that we can get to 50% occupancy, socially distance, but it is time-consuming,” Donati said. “We don’t want to put out a plan and then change it if we don’t have to. We’d like to get a little more information before we have a complete finalized plan ready for our donors.”
