Construction of the south end zone of Jones AT&T Stadium is almost complete
The coaches’ level and field-level club met on Aug. 2 to meet the planned completion date, a Tech official said. The building is pictured on Aug. 5, 2024.
Texas Tech football coaches moved into their offices in the new south end zone building at Jones AT&T Stadium in July, and the Red Raiders have been holding their team meetings at the field-level club since practice began last week.
The project’s construction team met target completion dates on those two levels, Texas Tech assistant athletic director Jonathan Botros said. Work will continue on other sites ahead of the Aug. 31 season opener against Abilene Christian.
“We think everything will be ready by August 20,” Botros said on Tuesday, “but there is still some work to be done in the hall and at the premium level. The trainer level and the field club, yes, those deadlines have been met.”
Announced in July 2022, the two-year, $242 million project will include three new structures: the four-story south end zone building, the two-story Dustin R. Womble Football Center and a visitor locker room at the northeast corner of the stadium.
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“The trainers have already moved in,” Botros said. “They are fully operational on the second floor. The field club is currently fully operational.”
“There are still a few little things that need to be done, but the furniture is ready to be unpacked. A lot of the furniture has already been unpacked. But there is already no PPE (personal protective equipment) required down there. It is currently being used daily for the full team meetings of the football team.”
Locker room for the visiting team of the Texas Tech football team almost finished, east parking lot soon to be 60 percent developed
Meanwhile, work continues in the stadium’s east parking lot, where the visitors’ dressing rooms have been built next to the Marsha Sharp Freeway and where various staff have been operating from trailers since last year.
Botros said the interior of the locker room is about 90 percent complete.
“If you look at the (dressing room) site, there’s still some work to be done,” he said, “but the site work will be completed this weekend, into next week. And so I would say it should look almost like a finished product by the end of next week. We have no concerns at this point that it will be fully functional and ready for game day.”
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Last season, opposing teams were housed in portable trailers on the east side of the field, which Tech players used during winter, spring and summer practices.
“Most of the trailers for the construction and project management teams will be moved out next week in the lead up to game day,” Botros said. “The main trailers for (contractors) Manhattan and Lee Lewis will remain in place for the first few home games, but the remaining trailers will be moved out.”
“The players’ locker room trailer and equipment trailer will remain there for the first game, but we’ll add about 60 percent more of that parking space for people who have a spot there on game day.”
The planned completion date for the Womble Football Center has been postponed to October 4.
The scheduled completion date for the Womble Football Center has been pushed back from Sept. 18 to Oct. 4. The Red Raiders’ first opening date is Oct. 12. The week before provides a window of time to move some operations into the building, which includes a two-story weight room, two-story player lounge, team room and walk-through room with a large LED screen and turf.
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There are contractual damages clauses for projects not completed on time, but Botros said that is unlikely to play a role.
“As with most construction projects, if any damage is caused to us – namely if we cannot receive all the fans on match day – there will be corresponding compensation payments in the contract,” said Botros. “But that is not something we are currently expecting and we do not anticipate it.”
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