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Southern Bleacher Scores a Touchdown for Stanford University with New Football Stadium

STANFORD, CA - Aug. 11 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The Southern Bleacher Company, based in Graham, TX, has constructed, in part, a brand new football stadium for the University of Stanford in California that is scheduled to open in September of 2006. In June of 2005, Stanford University's Board of Trustees gave preliminary approval for a major re-building of Stanford Stadium; the 85,500-seat facility has been the home of Stanford Football since 1921.

The trustees approved a concept plan presented by the Department of Athletics that will modernize almost all facilities within the stadium, and reduce the stadium's capacity to 50,000 seats for the purpose of bringing spectators closer to the field.

The stadium was demolished following the Stanford versus Notre Dame Game on Thanksgiving weekend of 2005. Fans across the country who were viewing the football game were able to observe the demolition equipment in the area that surrounded the old stadium and was immediately put into effect after the game.

The grand opening is scheduled for September 16, 2006, where Stanford players plan to kick off with their Navy opponents. Southern Bleacher executives will be in attendance on opening day in Palo Alto, CA.

"Southern Bleacher was pleased to work with Vance Brown, General Contractor for the project," Garrett Pettus, Marketing, Southern Bleacher, said. "In addition, our sales representative, David McClendon, Mechanical Engineer and Texas-Tech University graduate, was an integral part of the project and has been with Southern Bleacher since 1988."

Building plans include a number of changes such as more comfortable seating; improved sightlines; improved egress and ingress for circulation; renovated and increased number of restrooms; locker rooms and concession stands; a distributed sound system; additional matrix video board; a new Skybox; improved ADA accessibility; and seismic retrofitting.

The re-building of Stanford Stadium cost approximately $90 million. The project was funded by the Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation (DAPER) Investment Fund, and from friends of Stanford University who are passionate about the program and understand the vision for the stadium.

As a result, the new stadium was completed without incurring any long-term debt and will mark the beginning of a new era for Stanford football. With support from fans, the University, and the Department of Athletics, the Cardinal football team is poised to regain its national prominence.

"The new stadium will retain the earthy exterior and extensive landscaping of the historic stadium," Pettus said. "The insertion of new stadium elements within the confines of the existing landscape will result in a modernized facility that will reside within the historic stadium's 'footprint.'"

Since 1946, Southern Bleacher has set the standard of excellence in the design and manufacturing of sports stadiums and entertainment venues; they are the nation's largest stadium manufacturer.

Southern Bleacher's comprehensive services include budget analysis, estimates, proposal drawings and specifications at no cost. Clients will benefit from their vast experience in addressing the myriad of building-code requirements, accessibility issues, safety requirements and lines of sight that fans will cheer about.

Southern Bleacher's products grace soccer fields, college campuses, school districts, NASCAR tracks and rodeo arenas across the US.

From concept to reality, Southern Bleacher is customer driven. They work closely with planning committees and project architects to create a facility that is timeless and cost effective.

"We have made our mark in the industry by constantly finding new ways of addressing facility designs and seating systems required," Pettus said. "Solving our customers' needs, while providing superior and innovative products, has always been a top priority."

Southern Bleacher is a family owned and operated company that takes pride in their commitment to excellence.

For more information, visit: www.southernbleacher.com.

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