Zach Osterman

zach.osterman@indystar.com

BLOOMINGTON -- Memorial Stadium could be a fully enclosed bowl soon.

Indiana football coach Kevin Wilson on Wednesday confirmed that Indiana plans to enclose the south end zone of its stadium, the third major facilities project the program will embark upon in the near future.

Wilson was asked during his weekly radio show about where Indiana stood in the facilities "arms race" in college football. He praised Indiana's current administration for its financial support of his program, before mentioning the plan to enclose the south end zone.

"It's amazing, the resources we're putting into athletics," Wilson said.

IU athletic director Fred Glass could not be reached for comment as of press time. Wilson did not specify a timetable for the project in his answer.

Wilson said the new facility in the south end zone will include a cafeteria and allow Indiana to expand its football locker room, which is currently located under the west stands of Memorial Stadium. Athletes currently use the Hoosier Room, in the southwest corner of the stadium, as a cafeteria space.

Indiana enclosed the north end of its stadium late last decade, officially completing the North End Zone facility in 2009. Cook Hall, the practice facility used by men's and women's basketball, was also constructed as part of the same facilities expansion project. The department also recently built new baseball and softball stadiums north of Assembly Hall, a project completed for those sports' 2013 seasons.

Glass is currently overseeing a facilities expansion initiative that will include a $40 million renovation of Assembly Hall and the addition of a new volleyball/wrestling facility on the IU athletics campus. Indiana's volleyball and wrestling teams currently compete at the University Gym, more than a mile away from that campus, which is centered around Assembly Hall and Memorial Stadium.

Opened in 1960, Indiana's Memorial Stadium currently seats 52,929, though the Hoosiers don't often sell out home football games.

Originally a two-sided stadium with east and west stands facing one another, the stadium's north side was enclosed in 2009. According to the university's website, that portion of the stadium includes 5,404 seats and 432 club seats.

But the expansion also included the removal of bleacher seating from the old Memorial Stadium design, meaning the north end zone's enclosure did not significantly change the capacity of the stadium itself. It's not clear whether the plan to enclose the south end and complete the bowl would add significant seating.

Enclosing the north end zone five years ago allowed Indiana to add a new weight room, a larger and more comprehensive academic center for its student-athletes and office space for its football staff and administration. The results of that renovation have been routinely cited by Wilson and his staff as crucial in recruiting.

"The set-up is maybe as good as anyone's, but in the arms race you never have enough money," Wilson said on his radio show. "Our place is awesome, but we've got to keep reinvesting."

Follow Star reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.