Expansion will increase stadium capacity to 92,300

• By ERIN HERNANDEZ
• Advocate marketing writer
• Published: Dec 30, 2005

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• %20By%20this%20fall,%20LSU's%20Tiger%20Stadium%20will%20be%20able%20to%20accommodate%20about%2092,300%20fans,%20or%20700%20more%20than%20last%20season.

  %20That's%20because%20the%20university%20is%20expanding%20the%20west%20side%20of%20the%20stadium%20--%20to%20the%20tune%20of%20$60%20million,%20said%20Associate%20Athletic%20Director%20Herb%20Vincent.

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That's because the university is expanding the west side of the stadium -- to the tune of $60 million, said Associate Athletic Director Herb Vincent.

"(The expansion) is going to mean about $6 million in new revenue yearly," Vincent said.

The university pulled down the old west upper deck, built in 1978, except for some support beams and ramps, according to www.lsusports.net. The new upper deck will closely resemble the one built on the east side in 2000.

"There will be three levels," Vincent said, referring to the seating as "special-amenities." "There will be a large lounge behind these seats. There's a higher donation level involved with these seats."

The expansion will include a new press box and 3,200 club level seats in two levels beneath the upper deck.

The Tigers' recent success has made LSU Football more popular than ever.

LSU averaged better than 90,000 fans per game a year ago and the Tigers ranked fifth in the nation for attendance for the third straight season, according to www.lsuports.net.

Since the start of the NCAA's attendance compilations, LSU has finished in the nation's top 10 in average attendance 38 of 45 seasons. The Tigers have drawn 20,923,746 fans since 1957.

The question remains, however, whether the expansion will be open for LSU's first game.

"We're still monitoring that throughout the summer," Vincent said. "We're being told that it'll be inhabitable. The finishes won't be done -- for instance carpet and paint."