Athletic director, coach shed light on Bridgeforth Expansion
Posted on January 17, 2008
Whenever expansion is proposed and budgets are calculated, whether on a national, state or local level, speculation over the “real” motive follows.
In the latest case at JMU, the discussion surrounds Friday’s announcement of a $52 million plan to renovate Bridgeforth Stadium by the start of the 2011 season.
The plan is still that — just a plan. It includes a $40 million budget amendment that has to be approved by the Virginia General Assembly.
Assuming the plan is approved, Bridgeforth’s 15,778 seats will balloon to 24,878 with the addition of an upper-tier to a lower-tier on the west side of the stadium.
Athletic Director Jeff Bourne and Vice President Charlie King also presented JMU’s Board of Visitors with the option of a long-term plan that could expand the stadium to 40,000 seats.
The question that arises is if a move to Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) for JMU football was an underlying factor.
The answer is a resounding “No” according to Bourne, King and others close to the situation.
“Really, our initiative was to look at the programs at the pinnacle of I-AA,” Bourne said. “We want to build a stadium that puts you at the very top of the institutions you compete with.”
King echoed Bourne, saying that a move to the I-A level was not a driving force in the decision.
“We’ve sold out three years in a row,” King said. “We need to renovate.”
The man who may benefit the most from the proposed plan is JMU coach Mickey Matthews. The ninth-year coach has guided JMU from a mediocre program in the late 1990s to a I-AA perennial contender that boasts a 2004 National Championship.
“When I took the job, I thought that if we could be successful, we could excite people,” Matthews said. “I thought it was a sleeping giant, so no, [the progress] doesn’t surprise me.”
Matthews is excited to have what he deems will be the “top” stadium in all of I-AA football.
Among the top I-AA stadiums in the country is Montana’s Washington-Grizzly Stadium that holds 23,183 fans. On the east coast, CAA rival Delaware’s Raymond Tubby Stadium seats 22,000 and current three-time defending National champion Appalachian State has 22,820 seats.
App. State is currently renovating its stadium and Matthews emphasized the importance of keeping up with the competition.
“To attract the top students, an institution needs to make its academic buildings top-notch,” he said. “And to attract the top student athlete you need to have the top facilities.”
For now, it appears JMU would like to continue being one of the big fish in a smaller pond, no one is ruling out the possibility of the Dukes one day playing with the big boys.
“It’s not out of the realm of thinking when it comes to expansion of the stadium,” Bourne said. “I just don’t see it in the immediate [future].”
Bourne also said the facility will allow JMU to make stronger bids for playoff games and maybe even bid to host the national championship.
