Husky Stadium renovation on hold

In the two years since Todd Turner was named Washington's athletic director, he has already crafted a hefty legacy. He has made a bold hire in football coach Tyrone Willingham, ensured that Lorenzo Romar will man the men's basketball program for a long time and, maybe most important, restored credibility to a department previously reeling from scandal. But a project some close to the department have said might ultimately define his UW career — renovating Husky Stadium — remains stuck at the starting gate. The university has hired noted architectural firm HOK Sport of Kansas City, Mo., to develop a master plan for athletic facilities that includes schematics for a renovated Husky Stadium. That's about as far as Washington has gotten, however, with a task Turner never thought would be easy. And it's a task that has grown more complicated since Turner was introduced as UW's athletic director on a glorious June afternoon and said he found it "interesting" that there was a track around Husky Stadium. Those were words that warmed the hearts of fans who long have wanted to see their revered stadium, built in 1920, brought into the modern age. Many have been vocal about wanting to see the track removed to turn Husky Stadium into a more intimate venue to rival the likes of that found at Oregon. However, a losing football team and the desires of other public entities — specifically, plans to redo the 520 bridge and a separate project to build a Sound Transit station on Montlake Boulevard — have conspired to put the brakes on Husky Stadium. Initially, Washington hoped it could make public its plans for redoing the stadium this spring. But Turner said school officials began to more fully understand the impact of the 520 project and the Sound Transit station around the first of the year. "Once we saw the scope of that, it really caused us institutional heartburn to figure out how we are going to build our master plan around some of the things that are being contemplated to the west end of Husky Stadium and to the south," he said. "So we have slowed our planning to better understand what the region is planning to do." Sound Transit plans to build a station that stretches from the front entrance of Husky Stadium on Montlake all the way to the Montlake Cut. Construction is expected to start in 2009 and might not be completed until 2015. There are no set plans for what will happen with the 520 bridge, though officials recently said that project could also start in 2009 with possible completion in 2015. "It's a really complicated problem and it can't be addressed [independently]," Turner said. "You've got to look at how to make this work [for everyone involved], so that's kind of where we are." The Sound Transit and 520 projects, however, could mean that any substantial work on Husky Stadium wouldn't start until 2015 or later. That's assuming there's money in hand. At the moment, the school isn't actively raising dollars for a renovation of Husky Stadium. "A couple of things need to happen before we start doing that," Turner said. "Number one, we need to get a few wins under our belt. It's not the right time to be talking about asking people to contribute dollars. And second, we've got to determine what we can do and a time frame." Money raised from recent increases in ticket prices and mandatory donations has gone to help fund other football-related projects, notably a Legends Center that will soon be constructed on the east end of the Graves Annex at a cost of $5 million. That is expected to be completed before the 2007 season. Once the Huskies do start raising money, they may have to be more creative than originally hoped. Turner said research indicates the Huskies might not be able to fund as much of a possible renovation through suite sales as have other schools. Ohio State, for instance, raised 80 percent of the $194 million for its renovation through the sale of 81 hospitality suites and 2,500 club seats. But Turner said, "Our research indicates that that level of excitement for that type of suite boxes and amenity seating isn't that great," estimating the sale of 25 to 35 suites "is doable if we want to put them in." That might improve if the Huskies start winning. Willingham said he understood the minute he took the job the importance of reviving the team to renovating Husky Stadium. For now, he can't promise recruits they will ever play in a renovated Husky Stadium. But he said merely being able to talk about plans for improvements, as well as smaller projects that will be completed soon, such as the Legends Center, is a good first start. "Young people want to know that what they are doing is important," Willingham said. "If you are investing in your program, young people want to be a part of it."