EDITOR’S NOTE: Column has been updated to provide correct information about available donor opportunities for access to the three club levels of the south tower of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
East Carolina athletic officials know that the Pirate Nation will have to exhibit extra patience since its team’s home stadium is also an active construction zone. But they also hope that when fans sit in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and see the new tower take shape under the scaffolding, they will see the vision of a next-level game day experience taking shape.
“We have seven opportunities for people to come to our stadium and see it firsthand, so hopefully what we’re going to focus on here over the next four months is to see if we can continue to drum up some interest and go ahead and have that sold out so that when next spring rolls around when the project is open it will be 100 percent sold out,” said Phillip Wood, who became the new executive director of the Pirate Club last summer.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: BONESVILLE EXTENDS ITS APPRECIATION TO THE ECU MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE FOR PROVIDING THE PHOTOS THAT ACCOMPANY THIS COLUMN AND A RELATED PHOTO GALLERY.
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The $60 million project, which includes the new football locker room suite that was opened early this month and the new south tower of the stadium projected for completion next summer, is being funded entirely by private donations and includes opportunities for enhanced game day experiences for those who donate at certain levels.
When completed, the south tower will include three different seating experiences for Pirate Club members — Field Level Club, Williams-Clark Club Level and Scholarship Club Level — each with its own amenities for fans.
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Access for all three levels, with specific features based on the level of the donation, are still available, Wood said.
The other major naming opportunity is a significant one, he said — the search for a leading donor to give the as-yet-unnamed tower a name.
“This project’s going to be something that’s going to be a point of pride, not only with ECU athletics, but with our entire university,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to work with someone that would like to make the financial commitment to have their name associated with such an exciting project.”
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Those who have already invested in the renovation witnessed the first fruits of their donation with the grand opening of the new locker room, team meeting areas, athletic training headquarters, equipment room and the football team lounge in the Ward Sports Medicine Building on August 2.
An ECU video taken when the players walked into the space for the first time captures their excitement at the spacious, state-of-the-art facilities.
“It was unreal,” senior offensive tackle and team captain Garrett McGhin told ECU media relations after the tour. “I kind of got a little emotional being in there, seeing everything, compared to the old stuff that we had. It’s the little things, like the cold tub, which is something we’ve never had, and seeing all the new TVs and all the graphics, it was just unreal. Across the board, it was just jaw-dropping.”
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With Phase 1 checked off the list, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations J.J. McLamb is keeping daily tabs on Phase 2, the stadium tower that will include, in addition to the premiere seating areas, a new modern press area, premium parking spaces and a ground level reserved just for Pirate Club members. The project is progressing on schedule, he said, projected to be completed next summer in time for the 2019 football season.
McLamb, Acting Chief Operating Officer Lee Workman and others connected to stadium operations have been concurrently tracking the project and making accommodations so that everyone connected with home games — from visiting coaches to video production staff to equipment managers and fans — is able to have the optimal game-day experience. Temporary quarters are ready for all of the media and support staff who normally work in the press box areas, Workman said.
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The key word for each of the home dates this fall will be flexibility, Workman said. Some of the entrances will have alternate gates, and a small percentage of the south side parking spaces are unavailable. Additionally, stadium access and construction area status will change over the course of the fall as the work continues.
“We just ask the fans to be patient and understand that we’re under construction,” Workman said. “Progress is always painful for a time.”
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