Apogee Stadium

Apogee Stadium is a college football stadium located at the junction of Interstate 35 East and West in Denton, Texas. Opened in 2011, it is home to the North Texas Mean Green football team, which competes in the Sun Belt Conference.

Originally proposed by the University of North Texas Board of Regents after the 2002 New Orleans Bowl, the stadium was constructed at a cost of $78 million after a contentious election by the student body in 2009. Originally named Mean Green Stadium, it was renamed when ResNet provider Apogee purchased the naming rights in 2011. The stadium hosted its first major event on September 10, 2011 when the Mean Green lost 48 to 23 against the University of Houston Cougars.

The facility includes wind turbines and utilizes various forms of environmental technology, making it the first newly-built stadium to achieve LEED Platinum certification. It is part of the Mean Green Village, a collection of athletic facilities on the University of North Texas campus. The facility replaced Fouts Field, which had been home to the school's football program since 1951.

History

Athletics fee referendum

First attempt

An initial referendum for a higher student athletics fee failed in 2002 when it was rejected by 55% of UNT's voting students. After the vote, school administrators pushed the fee to UNT Student Government Association (SGA) Senators as a way to help the university's athletics program achieve Title IX compliance. The Senate approved a new fee for students of roughly half the proposed increase. The UNT Board of Regents met on Easter Sunday to approve the fee, which immediately went into effect. Fourteen members of the SGA were removed from their positions by students after they ignored the results of the election.^[3]

In 2002, UNT purchased land on the opposite side of Interstate 35 from the main campus in Denton, Texas from Liberty Christian School for $5.1 million.^[4] Immediately following the football team's victory at the 2002 New Orleans Bowl, school administrators announced their intent to create an assortment of new athletic facilities on the property, including a new football stadium. Richard Raefs, then vice chancellor of administrative affairs at UNT, claimed that the ultimate goal of the project was to consolidate academic facilities and that renovating Fouts Field would cost $8 million more than building an entirely new stadium.^[5]

In 2005, UNT athletic director Rick Villareal stated that the University would use only "private fundraising", rather than another fee increase for students, to pay for any new facilities, including a stadium. He claimed a new stadium would cost $40 million and seat 50,000 spectators, saying "[w]e have a mandate here. We haven't built anything or will build anything without raising the money ourselves".^[6] The athletic department changed that capacity number in 2007 to 32,000 with the possibility of expanding to allow 50,000.^[7] In February 2008, HKS, Inc. was selected to provide initial architectural and design services for the proposed new stadium.^[8]

Second attempt

In 2008, the athletic department tried again to increase the athletics fee to pay for the new stadium, which now had a price tag of $60 million, $20 million more than the previous estimate. The UNT Student Senate voted to hold a student election on the referendum to approve the new fee. The new athletics fee amounted to approximately $7 more per hour for each student, resulting in students paying approximately $840 each for the new football stadium over the course of four years.^[3] The athletics department made a concerted effort to promote the higher fee to students, with supporters even suggesting hiring "street preachers or troubadours" to promote the election.^[9] According to state law, students cannot pay for more than half the cost of a stadium.^[10] A month prior to the election, athletics director Rick Villareal asserted that "this is not some arms race for us" and that the department did not want a new football stadium just to keep up with other universities."^[11]

In October 2008, students voted for or against the referendum:

In order for the University of North Texas to have a better Athletic program, which in turn can lead to national exposure and increased recognition of UNT; I agree to a dedicated Athletic Fee not to exceed $10 per semester credit hour, capped at 15 hours. Once the Athletic Fee is implemented, the Student Service Fee will be reduced by $3 per semester credit hour. The Athletic Fee shall not be implemented until the semester the new football stadium is complete, which is expected to be fall 2011.^[12]

On October 21, 2008, the UNT SGA announced that in one of the largest turnouts in the school's history, student voters approved a dedicated athletic fee to fund the new stadium. Almost 14 percent of the student body voted, with 2,829 students (58.1%) voting for the increase and 2,038 (41.9%) voting against it. The fee, as advertised, did not begin until construction on the stadium was completed.^[10] After the election, the price tag of the stadium increased again to $78 million, $38 million more than the 2005 estimate.^[13] At a press conference with then head football coach Todd Dodge, Villarreal stated "There's an arms race going on going on with facilities. This one will put us up there with everybody else."^[14]

Construction and naming rights

Manhattan Construction Company was hired to provide pre-construction and construction services on the stadium.^[15] According to Ann Clinkscales, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development at UNT, the athletic department would reveal the total amount of donations at the spring football game on April 4, 2009, but no announcement was made.^[16] At the groundbreaking ceremony on November 21, 2009, then President of UNT Gretchen Bataille stated that of the approximately $39 million needed to be raised by the department, they had "reached the $5 million mark".^[17] Construction officially finished on July 20, 2011^[18] On August 11, 2011, UNT announced a deal with Austin-based ResNet provider Apogee for the naming rights to the new stadium, now called Apogee Stadium.^[19] According to the contract, the company will pay $11.8 million of the $20 million deal in cash over 20 years, including graduated annual payments beginning at $312,000 and ending in three annual payments of $1 million. The remaining $8.29 million will be in the form of in-kind services. As part of the contract, Apogee also received one luxury suite in the new stadium and premium tickets to other UNT events.^[20]

Opening season

The stadium hosted its first game on September 10, 2011, when the Mean Green lost 48 to 23 against the University of Houston Cougars. A massive effort by the university and the athletic department to sell out the first home game at the new stadium did not succeed, as the game attracted 28,075 spectators.^[21] By the third home game, against the Florida Atlantic Owls football team, attendance had dropped to a season-low 13,142 spectators.^[22] Home attendance for the stadium's first season averaged 18,864 per game, or 61.15% of the facility's capacity of 30,850.^[23]

Features

One of the major selling points to students throughout the stadium fee campaign was the construction of 21 luxury suites, which the athletics department sells for $20,000 per year, plus a "six- or seven-figure gift to the Stadium Fund."^[24] Fans can also purchase one of 754 club seats with a one time gift of $3,125 to $12,500, in addition to an annual $500 donation to the athletic department, plus the cost of season tickets.^[25] The facility also includes a Mean Green Gear Store, located at Gate 2 on the west side of the stadium.^[26] Unlike Fouts Field, Apogee Stadium does not have a track surrounding the field, setting fans approximately ten meters closer to the field.^[27] Apogee Stadium is a LEED Platinum certified stadium, the first newly-built stadium to achieve that level. It utilizes wind turbines and solar panels to provide some of its power needs.^[28] The university also hired an environmental graphic design firm, FocusEGD, to design many of the graphic elements associated with the new stadium.^[29]

Transportation and location

In February 2003, the school conducted studies at a total cost of $100,000 that identified three major potential traffic problem areas around the future facility.^[30] Initially, university officials planned to address these concerns by rerouting season ticket holders through the surrounding neighborhoods,^[31] but in 2009, residents again expressed concerns that the stadium could clog traffic systems in the area.^[32] Consequently, university officials instead agreed to shut down the area streets on game days to anyone without a resident's permit instead of rerouting traffic through the area.^[33] In order to access the facility before an event, fans must park on the opposite side of the highway at Fouts Field for a $10 fee. Then, they must walk across the North Texas Boulevard Bridge, which leads to the stadium.^[34] Fans can also take the DCTA A-train to the Downtown Denton Transit Center station and find a shuttle to the stadium.

References