This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The U. Board of Trustees signed off Tuesday on a $3.3 million upgrade to Rice-Eccles Stadium that will come as a big relief to those hoping to relieve themselves on gamedays.
Utah athletic director Chris Hill told The Tribune that the 88 new men's toilets and 45 new sinks are expected to be in place for Utah's season opener against Michigan.
In addition to 5,000 square feet of new restroom space, the project will add 7,350 square feet of walking space on the north concourse and is also expected to improve congestion around concessions in the case of an emergency.
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Auxiliary Services will fund the construction, a top priority of Hill's amid calls by some for Rice-Eccles expansion.
Another priority — a new video board — may not be installed for the 2015 football season, as previously thought.
"We're trying to make sure we build it so that it's in the right place for a long time," Hill said.
The quandary is what to do with the building behind the south end zone that houses Utah's locker rooms and press conference area, among other things.
Hill said it's become clear that the building is "not in the kind of shape that it should be" — referring to the state of the locker rooms, wiring, plumbing and sewage, etc. — and that it may be rebuilt "in the nearer future than the later."
That may affect the location of the video board, Hill said, and if they're spending upward of $6 million, they don't want it to be a temporary fix.
Asked the inevitable follow-up question, Hill said he doesn't currently anticipate the south end zone project changing the capacity of the stadium.
Hill said that while Auxiliary Services is picking up the tab for the bathrooms, fees collected from season ticket buyers will still go toward stadium improvements, as explained last month.
— Matthew Piper
Twitter: @matthew_piper