Location of $26.615 million, on-campus venue announced; as well as facility details and plans for funding the project

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 18, 2015) – Revealing specific details about the location, amenities, and funding model of an on-campus football stadium, the ETSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics hosted a momentous press conference Wednesday afternoon on the site of the planned facility.

Surrounded by members of the ETSU football team, a gathered crowd of dignitaries, media, students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, learned that the stadium – which will be built in two phases and ultimately cost approximately $26.615 million – will be built on property located between the Basler Center for Physical Activity and the ETSU Physical Plant Building.

“This is a historic day for our entire program,” said ETSU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Richard Sander. “A great deal of time, energy and planning has gone into getting us to this point. I want to thank everyone who has been involved in getting us here today, but now is the beginning of the next step in the process and we need everyone to join in.”

Among those in attendance Wednesday were former ETSU football player and longtime NFL head coach Mike Smith, who will be joined by fellow ETSU alumni and country music star Kenny Chesney as co-chairs of the stadium fundraising committee. While Smith spoke at the event, Chesney and ETSU football consultant Phillip Fulmer addressed the crowd by video.

The stadium, which will ultimately seat over 10,000 fans, will include a field turf playing surface, a Westside Tower which will house a press box and sky box seating, a South end zone video board, as well as a South end zone field house.

Fans wishing to learn more about the facility can do so by visiting ETSUstadium.com and by calling 423-439-8399.

Preliminary Stadium Design Facts

Location: Southwest corner of campus

Capacity: 10,000 (+) in a horseshoe design

Surface: Field turf

Estimated cost: $26.615 million

Premium seating: Skyboxes, Club Seats, Mid-Field Seats

Press Box: West Tower

Video Board: South end zone

Locker Rooms: Field house facility in South end zone

Concourses: Open air, surrounding stadium in a horseshoe design

Parking: Nearly 4,000 parking spaces surround the stadium