SEPTEMBER 2017 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \
77
WORDS:
Eric Peterson
A
fter 48 years, Colorado State
University’s football team
is coming home. The Rams
played for the last time at
off-campus Hughes Stadium
in late 2016, after 262 games,
not to mention a few gigs by the Rolling
Stones, Bob Dylan and other rock legends.
It can be hard to turn the page, but the
shiny, new Colorado State Stadium is un-
deniably slick. The $220 million, 41,000-
seat venue came in on schedule easily in
time for the first kickoff Aug. 26.
Bringing the stadium back to campus
isn’t about football alone, says CSU Athlet-
ic Director Joe Parker.
“Playing football on campus provides
the largest engagement opportunity for
the university six times each year,” he says.
“Alumni who come to football games will
be back on campus, walking in the same
places they walked as students and show-
ing their families this beautiful campus.
Something that is very exciting is to see
people experience the stadium for the
first time in person, and to see that some-
thing very special has been built here.”
Like football, the project was ultimately
based on teamwork.
“We have had a really strong team in
place from the start with our design part-
ner Populous, our construction partner
Mortenson and our owner’s representa-
tion with ICON Venue Group, and then
all the internal resources on campus,” says
Parker. “We did a lot of planning and kept
a lot of strong communication through-
out the process of construction, so it has
been, in my estimation, a nearly flawless
execution of a very complex plan.”
Gene Hodge, vice president of project
development for Mortenson’s Denver Op-
erating Group, seconds that notion.
“I think everybody works pretty well
together,” Hodge says of the team, noting
that Populous and Mortenson have col-
Colorado State Stadium: Rams Charge Back to CampusLane Brugman