Zach Osterman

zach.osterman@indystar.com

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana University's board of trustees will be asked Friday to approve a $53 million plan to enclose the south end of Memorial Stadium, IU's football facility.

That's according to official minutes of this week's trustees meeting, scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday at IUPUI.

The proposed expansion, which is not expected to significantly impact stadium capacity, has been public knowledge since October 2014 when IU football coach Kevin Wilson mentioned it during his weekly radio show. Athletic director Fred Glass formally announced it at a ceremony in March, corralling it under the same umbrella as Assembly Hall's continuing renovation and a long-term plan to construct a new volleyball/wrestling facility on the Bloomington campus.

IU expects to pay for the project via donations and athletics department revenues.

According to a summary of the project listed in the minutes, it is estimated to add 66,575 square feet to the stadium, with the primary objectives including addition of several athletic support facilities.

"The 66,575 gross square foot addition will," according to the minutes, "expand student athletics facilities in Memorial Stadium and provide a consolidated rehabilitation and treatment center. The Excellence Academy on the lower field level will house rehabilitation, hydrotherapy, the wellness center medical suite, sports science research, and academic support in the Life Skills Center."

Replacing the current Hoosier Room — a multipurpose dining facility inside Memorial Stadium — and reconfiguring the treatment facilities adjoining it will allow athletics to repurpose the area it currently occupies. According to the minutes, the football team's locker room will be renovated and expanded, with the sports medicine facility moved to the north area of what is now the Hoosier Room, and a players lounge added in the south area.

The roof of the new structure will be dedicated to fan amenities. Knothole Park, a popular children's play area currently located beyond the stadium's south end zone, will be relocated there, and the structure will also include what the minutes term "a large event terrace."

The project calls for a new video board to be placed in the renovated south end zone area, at a size of 40 feet by 70 feet. The north end zone will also get a video board, sized 20 feet by 60 feet.

Additionally, according to the minutes, various upgrades related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are expected, "including seating platforms and restroom renovations."

The overall capital improvement initiative within Glass' department is part of Indiana University's Bicentennial Project, an initiative aimed at raising $2.5 billion over the entire university system by IU's 200th anniversary in 2020.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.