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They get some help from the state. Might be nice if we had some progressive congressmen.
DSU begins $1 million stadium project
By MIKE FINNEY
Staff reporter
05/12/2004
DOVER -- The project taking place at Delaware State University's Alumni Stadium is not nearly as loud or as glitzy as the proposed $92 million, 14,500-seat football stadium and 7,500-seat arena complex the school is hoping to receive state funding for.
However, Tripp Keister, the Hornets' associate athletic director, insists that the current $1 million refurbishing of Alumni Stadium will be just as important for the school in the long run.
The money being used came from the state last year as part of the $4 million to be used for the school's multipurpose athletic facility.
It is just the start of what he hopes will be a continued building boom near the campus on the northwest side of Dover. Plus, it will help keep the school in the spotlight.
"We've got to have some curb appeal," Keister said. "I think it's important when people ride by this summer on their way to the beach that they can see that change is in the air."
The visiting grandstand has been razed and new bleachers that will seat 4,000 fans are being built.
A new concession stand, rest room facilities and improved locker room facilities are also in the works. DSU is also going to re-sod the field and re-center it in the middle of the stadium, which will allow more room on the sidelines for football and more room to play soccer.
There are plenty of other people with an eye on what is taking place at Delaware State. Jack Holloway, the executive director for the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association, is one of those people.
Holloway said the DIAA is "extremely interested" in playing high school football state tournament games at Alumni Stadium, as soon as this fall.
"Delaware State is really an ideal situation for our needs," Holloway said. "Right now, their facilities leave a little to be desired, and I'm sure they'd say the same thing. But we would be very much interested in any of the new facilities they are talking about.
"They say they are going to bring seating capacity at Alumni Stadium up to 7,500 and they're talking about adding lights, too. If they put lights on and expand capacity to 7,500, then I'm sure the state football committee and DSU would like to get together to firm up some kind of medium- to long-range solution."
That is because Delaware State University sits right in the middle of the state. That would erase a travel advantage for any team and would make it convenient for all fans. Plus, 7,500 seats is just about the perfect amount for a high school game, Holloway said.
These are exactly the kinds of things that Keister likes to hear.
"We have interest in having as many high school events on the campus as we can," said Keister, who recently met with the state football committee and expressed his desire to bring tourney games to DSU.
"We have that interest and we want that for the state, we want that for Kent County, we want it for the city of Dover. We want people to get into the habit of coming out here."
Keister said the key to progressive change all begins with a single stroke of fresh paint.
Those changes are already underway at Alumni Stadium, though Keister said lights would not be installed by this fall.
Currently, the visiting grandstand - or as what Keister prefers to call the North grandstand - has been razed and footers and a foundation have already been set in place for a 4,000-seat addition of aluminum bleachers.
Those new seats, painted in Hornets' red, will rise 21 rows into the sky, will extend from end zone to end zone and will be topped with a 54-foot press box. They are being built by E&D Grandstand Seating, the same company that has helped Dover International Speedway expand its grandstands over the past decade.
"There's a lot going on, and I guess it never happens quite as quickly as you'd want it to," Keister said. "But you have to make sure you get everything organized, so that you're timing a lot of the things.
"For instance, we have graduation out here next Sunday and we can't have graduation out here with construction going on, so we have to make sure it's cleaned up and it looks good.
"But as soon as graduation's over next Monday, this fence [around the track] is going down. We're getting to work and we will be ready by the time our first football game arrives in the fall."
That will be Sept. 4, when the Hornets host the University of Massachusetts.
Keister said the Alumni Stadium renovation is an important part of DSU's plans for the future.
Even though it is a $1 million project, and not the $92 million sports complex the school would eventually like to embark upon, it is just as important.
"The good thing about this is we don't feel like we're wasting our money, because what we're doing is, this facility can be used for soccer, track and lacrosse, hopefully, when we move into our new one," Keister said. "One thing's for sure, it is an exciting time to be around Delaware State University."
Reach Mike Finney at 734-7945 or mfinney@delawareonline.com.
DSU begins $1 million stadium project
By MIKE FINNEY
Staff reporter
05/12/2004
DOVER -- The project taking place at Delaware State University's Alumni Stadium is not nearly as loud or as glitzy as the proposed $92 million, 14,500-seat football stadium and 7,500-seat arena complex the school is hoping to receive state funding for.
However, Tripp Keister, the Hornets' associate athletic director, insists that the current $1 million refurbishing of Alumni Stadium will be just as important for the school in the long run.
The money being used came from the state last year as part of the $4 million to be used for the school's multipurpose athletic facility.
It is just the start of what he hopes will be a continued building boom near the campus on the northwest side of Dover. Plus, it will help keep the school in the spotlight.
"We've got to have some curb appeal," Keister said. "I think it's important when people ride by this summer on their way to the beach that they can see that change is in the air."
The visiting grandstand has been razed and new bleachers that will seat 4,000 fans are being built.
A new concession stand, rest room facilities and improved locker room facilities are also in the works. DSU is also going to re-sod the field and re-center it in the middle of the stadium, which will allow more room on the sidelines for football and more room to play soccer.
There are plenty of other people with an eye on what is taking place at Delaware State. Jack Holloway, the executive director for the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association, is one of those people.
Holloway said the DIAA is "extremely interested" in playing high school football state tournament games at Alumni Stadium, as soon as this fall.
"Delaware State is really an ideal situation for our needs," Holloway said. "Right now, their facilities leave a little to be desired, and I'm sure they'd say the same thing. But we would be very much interested in any of the new facilities they are talking about.
"They say they are going to bring seating capacity at Alumni Stadium up to 7,500 and they're talking about adding lights, too. If they put lights on and expand capacity to 7,500, then I'm sure the state football committee and DSU would like to get together to firm up some kind of medium- to long-range solution."
That is because Delaware State University sits right in the middle of the state. That would erase a travel advantage for any team and would make it convenient for all fans. Plus, 7,500 seats is just about the perfect amount for a high school game, Holloway said.
These are exactly the kinds of things that Keister likes to hear.
"We have interest in having as many high school events on the campus as we can," said Keister, who recently met with the state football committee and expressed his desire to bring tourney games to DSU.
"We have that interest and we want that for the state, we want that for Kent County, we want it for the city of Dover. We want people to get into the habit of coming out here."
Keister said the key to progressive change all begins with a single stroke of fresh paint.
Those changes are already underway at Alumni Stadium, though Keister said lights would not be installed by this fall.
Currently, the visiting grandstand - or as what Keister prefers to call the North grandstand - has been razed and footers and a foundation have already been set in place for a 4,000-seat addition of aluminum bleachers.
Those new seats, painted in Hornets' red, will rise 21 rows into the sky, will extend from end zone to end zone and will be topped with a 54-foot press box. They are being built by E&D Grandstand Seating, the same company that has helped Dover International Speedway expand its grandstands over the past decade.
"There's a lot going on, and I guess it never happens quite as quickly as you'd want it to," Keister said. "But you have to make sure you get everything organized, so that you're timing a lot of the things.
"For instance, we have graduation out here next Sunday and we can't have graduation out here with construction going on, so we have to make sure it's cleaned up and it looks good.
"But as soon as graduation's over next Monday, this fence [around the track] is going down. We're getting to work and we will be ready by the time our first football game arrives in the fall."
That will be Sept. 4, when the Hornets host the University of Massachusetts.
Keister said the Alumni Stadium renovation is an important part of DSU's plans for the future.
Even though it is a $1 million project, and not the $92 million sports complex the school would eventually like to embark upon, it is just as important.
"The good thing about this is we don't feel like we're wasting our money, because what we're doing is, this facility can be used for soccer, track and lacrosse, hopefully, when we move into our new one," Keister said. "One thing's for sure, it is an exciting time to be around Delaware State University."
Reach Mike Finney at 734-7945 or mfinney@delawareonline.com.
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