cybersex with skip #58 There are certain moments that define an organization. There are times of critical importance that shape the ultimate future of a program. For LSU Athletics, we are living those decisive moments right now. The summer months are usually deemed "the slow time" for college sports. It is the time of year between the end of spring sports seasons and the beginning of football season, and fans are searching with great frustration for things about their favorite college teams to discuss and debate. But at LSU, activity is at an all-time high. Although the playing fields are empty and the equipment is locked away, there are things happening on our campus even as you read this letter that will affect our athletics program for decades to come. In my very first Cyber-side Chat to you on May 8, 2003, I wrote the following: "Our vision is simple but challenging: to be one of the Top Five athletics programs in the nation – year in and year out – for the next quarter of a century." I then outlined the steps needed to achieve that vision. No. 1 was this: "LSU needs to renovate its aging athletics facilities and to build new facilities to realize our vision." We have covered a lot of ground in the last two years since I first outlined our vision, but we have never lost our purpose. I hope you will agree with me that this summer our vision is truly coming into focus, and creating opportunities for even more future development. The west upper deck of Tiger Stadium is being renovated into a productive facility that will generate new revenue for our all of our sports at LSU long into the future. It will be a tremendous new addition that will help make our wonderful 81-year-old stadium beneficial to our university for a very long time. It has become clear to us that between 1,500 to 2,000 seats in the west upper deck will not be ready for the first two games of the season, but the important and pleasing fact is that we will be able to accommodate all of our season ticket holders with alternate seats if necessary. We believe this is a short term inconvenience for a long-term benefit to the program. I hope you agree. The stadium renovation is already paying dividends. The promise of revenue from 3,200 new Stadium Club seats is allowing the Tiger Athletic Foundation to build a new Football Operations Center to be used by our football team when its returns to campus August 6. This critical new building will make our football program more efficient, and will help us continue to recruit premier student-athletes and coaches to our campus. You will also see other improvements to the LSU game day experience. All sideline seating on the east side of Tiger Stadium will be replaced by the season opener, complete with waterproofing, and next year all west sideline seats will be replaced, along with the Tiger Stadium field. We began improvements to the restrooms of Tiger Stadium two years ago, and that renovation project is ongoing. One of the most neglected buildings on the campus, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, is undergoing the second phase of a renovation project aimed at making this 33-year-old building a more fan-friendly and safe facility. Last year we renovated the concourse of the arena to make it more attractive. This summer we are in the midst of a complete overhaul, replacing every seat in the building, adding better ADA seating for our disabled patrons, expanding restroom facilities and improving the sound system. Four LSU sports compete in the Maravich Center, but there are also numerous non-athletic events that take place in the building. In fact, almost 400,000 people use the Maravich Center for nearly 150 events – athletic and non-athletic related – every year. The Maravich Center will be a facility for which the entire University can be proud. In that first Cyber-side Chat two years ago, I compared the tremendous facility development at other SEC schools with our lagging facilities on the LSU campus. For instance, Arkansas spent over $170 million during the 1990s and Alabama committed over $150 million. From 1979 to 1999, LSU spent less than $20 million on athletics facilities. But, counting facilities that have been completed, facilities under construction and planned facilities, LSU will have invested nearly $200 million in upgrading our athletics physical plant between the years 2000 and 2010. It started with the renovation of the east side of Tiger Stadium in 2000 and continued with the new Academic Center for Student-Athletes in 2002. Now, this summer, we are conducting the most dramatic makeover of athletic facilities the University has ever seen. Perhaps the most amazing fact is that all of these improvements are being paid for through private funds or self-generated, non-state tax dollars. All of this would not be possible without the Tiger Athletic Foundation – its members and its leadership – that allows LSU to strive for a vision of excellence. Some of these projects are being funded by the TAF and others are University projects, but all of them are being carried out for the same purpose. And there is more to come. We are well into our planning for a new softball stadium, and architect selection was recently completed for a new baseball stadium. Other sports have needs as well, and through a continued plan of revenue production and philanthropic fund-raising, we can make our vision a reality. There have been many great moments in LSU history. There have been last minute touchdown passes that rocked the earth, bottom of the ninth home runs that have won championships, buzzer-beating three-point shots and world-record track performances. And this moment in time – this summer of construction – will have a lasting impact on LSU Athletics that will allow for the creation of many more of those memories for future generations. Thank you for making it happen. Be proud that you are changing the face of Tiger Athletics and making our future better.
