| McColl-Richardson Field | |
|---|---|
December 2011 construction progress |
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| Location | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Broke ground | April 29, 2011 |
| Opened | August 31, 2013 (scheduled) |
| Owner | University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
| Operator | University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
| Construction cost | $45 million |
| Architect | Jenkins-Peer DLR Group |
| General Contractor | Rodgers/PCL/Russell |
| Capacity | 15,300 (expandable to 40,000) |
| Tenants | |
| Charlotte 49ers football | |
McColl-Richardson Field, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, is the under construction, home stadium for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (or simply Charlotte) 49ers college football team. Groundbreaking for the stadium was on April 28, 2011.[1] It is currently due to open in 2013 and will have a seating capacity of 15,300 spectators; but could be expanded to up to 40,000, or rapidly expanded to 25,000 with the addition of temporary bleachers.[2]
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In June 2008, Charlotte chancellor Phil Dubois presented a report to the school's Board of Trustees that addressed both the needs and impacts of the addition of a football program and stadium to the university.[3] At the time of the report, the recommendations for a stadium location did not include American Legion Memorial Stadium, but rather a renovated Irwin Belk Track and Field Center/Transamerica Field or at the site of the recreational fields on the northwestern side of the campus.[3] Chancellor Dubois indicated at that time that the renovated Transamerica Field would be the preferred option at that time due to overall costs of new stadium construction.[3]
In November 2008, the school's Board of Trustees unanimously approved chancellor Dubois' proposal to add a football program to Charlotte.[4] The following January, university officials announced details for the proposed personal seat license fees that would be used in part to finance the construction of the stadium.[5] With the ticket sale drive well underway, on December 11, 2009, the Charlotte Board of Trustees approved a financing plan for football.[6] The plan called for the university to borrow $40.5 million in state issued bonds to construct a permanent stadium and field house. The reason the Board chose to construct the new facility instead of renovating an existing one was a result of a favorable bidding environment for new construction, and to help stimulate greater interest in ticket sales.[6]
On February 12, 2010, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors approved a debt service fee increase to fund the construction of the football stadium and football center,[7] and on August 2, 2010 Governor Bev Perdue signed the debt service fee bill into law to clear the way for stadium construction.[8] The final design of the Charlotte 49ers football stadium was displayed at the Board of Trustees meeting on September 24, 2010.[9] Designed by the architecture teams of Jenkins-Peer Architects and the DLR Group, its location was shown near the campus entrance at Highway 29 north of Hayes Stadium.[9]
On April 28, 2011 Charlotte held a groundbreaking ceremony for the football stadium.[1][10] Rodgers PCL Russell, a joint venture of Rodgers Builders, PCL Construction and H. J. Russell & Company, is the primary builder for the stadium, fields and football center.[1] The stadium is scheduled to be complete in summer 2013 to allow for the 49ers first home game against Campbell on August 31, 2013.[1]
The Charlotte 49ers Football Stadium is a horseshoe-style stadium with the field house located at the southeastern end. The stadium is slightly off of the traditional north/south alignment of most American Football stadiums to better situate itself in line with the rest of the Charlotte Research Institute Campus; which was laid out to match Tryon St. (US Highway 29).[9] The first phase of the construction includes approximately 15,300 seats, with the design able to support future expansion of between 40,000 to 60,000 seats.[9] Any future expansion of the stadium would be contingent on the 49ers program moving from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).[11]
On November 1st, 2011, the field was named McColl-Richardson Field after former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl and Jerry Richardson, owner of the NFL's Carolina Panthers.[12] The stadium name as well as the football center name have yet to be determined.[12]
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