UConn Coaches Review Stadium Progress

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ Connecticut coaches and athletic officials got a glimpse of the future Thursday when they toured the construction site for the school's new 40,000-seat stadium. The heavy equipment and crews were still working, and the onlookers could see their $90 million dream taking shape.
 

"I had goose bumps," said UConn Athletic Director Lew Perkins. "You can literally see now what the bowl will look like." Crews broke ground nine months ago at the 75-acre Rentschler Field, the former airfield donated by United Technologies Inc. The entire project, built with a combination of private and state funds, is to be completed in the summer of 2003, in time for the fall football season. UConn has scheduled Rutgers for its opening game in the new arena. "It's moving at a very rapid pace," Perkins said.

Coach Randy Edsall had been to the site before, but it was the first time for some of his coaches. "I saw the big eyes. I saw the kid in the candy store," said Edsall. "I was ready to start practicing right there and then." UConn is entering its second season in Division I-A currently play in the 16,000-seat Memorial Stadium on the Storrs campus. The NCAA has waived the 35,000-seat I-A requirement until the stadium is built.

Thursday's tour also gave the coaching staff more fodder for their recruiting pitches. "To actually see the stadium and to be on the 50 yard line, you can visualize it two years from now," Edsall said. UConn opens this season Sept. 1 at Virginia Tech.

Photos by Stephen Slade/UConn

University of Connecticut Athletics

UConn Coaches Review Stadium Progress

UConn Coaches Review Stadium Progress

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