Football | 4/9/2015 5:40:00 PM
ABILENE – ACU director of athletics Lee De León announced Thursday that the university has agreed to partner with industry leader HKS Architects to build the university's new on-campus football stadium.
Demolition was completed on the stands and structure of the old Elmer Gray Stadium earlier this week, and on that site the new stadium will be built. The actual track surface is still on the grounds and will be dug up when construction on the stadium begins. De León said the university is approximately two-thirds of the way through its fundraising efforts for the stadium, and the stadium construction won't begin until all necessary funds are secured.
HKS was selected to build the new stadium after consultation and presentations from several architectural firms. Founded in 1939, HKS has more than 1,000 employees in 26 offices worldwide. It has projects located in 1,648 cities throughout 84 countries, and it's built some of the best stadiums in the country: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the new stadium in Minnesota for the NFL's Vikings, Apogee Stadium at North Texas, the re-development of Amon Carter Stadium in Fort Worth and the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
"Our ACU team has met with HKS representatives – both in person and via conference call – allowing them to start designing our stadium," De León said. "We believe HKS will design a complex that will best serve the needs of our football program and its support personnel, and be a source of pride for ACU and its alumni for years to come."
