Now, 10 years later, Hill's vision has been fulfilled in every way.
Utah, which hosts UNLV Saturday in the 2008 home opener, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Rice-Eccles Stadium.
A sellout crowd of 45,017 is expected to watch the No. 22 Utes kick off against the Rebels at 6 p.m.
A video chronicling the 10 years of Rice-Eccles history will be played at halftime and a fireworks show celebrating the anniversary will follow the game.
The university hopes it is just one of many celebrations for the Utes, who are in the national polls for the first time since 2004, have sold a record 30,000-plus season tickets and opened the season with a win over Big Ten opponent Michigan.
"From season ticket sales, to what happened last week and the community, it's all been fabulous," Hill said earlier this week.
Hill led the charge for a new stadium in 1996 with the hope it could be done as a three-year project. That time frame sped up to just 15 months after the Spence Eccles donated $10 million toward the $50 million project.
The rest of the funding came from private donations ($10 million), athletics department bonding ($12 million) and the Salt Lake Olympic Committee ($8 million).
Two days after the 1997 season ended with a win over Rice University, Rice Stadium was quickly demolished to make way for a new arena that would improve seating from 32,500 to 45,017. A new, large press box that included 25 suites and club seating was also included.
"We knew it was going to be a challenge," Hill said. "It was a huge step for the university."
It was the right step, too, as the Utes' home has hosted everything from football games to Real Salt Lake soccer games to concerts to the 2002 Olympics.
In 2002 the stadium was the site of Ron McBride's last game as a head coach, a 13-6 win over BYU. In 2004 another win over BYU finished an undefeated season for the Utes, sending them to the Fiesta Bowl and causing what Hill called the most "civilized rushing of a football field" he'd ever seen.
"We knew if they won people would rush the field so we were prepared," he said. "We put steps down for them. We thought if they were going to rush, they should do it in a sportsmanlike manner."
In its final years the old, crumbling Rice Stadium wasn't much of a selling point to recruits; now Utah's coaches are eager to show off the venue to prospective athletes.
"It's one of the best stadiums in the country as far as game day atmospheres and the way it is set up," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We needed the renovation desperately."
With season ticket sales soaring and the Utes projecting $4.9 million in ticket revenue this year, Hill regularly is asked when the Utes will expand the south end zone and create more seating. His answer: "not yet."
"We've always understood there might be a time when we want to do that," he said. "We'll address that when warranted and when the time is right and it's pretty hard to pick when that is. But it's not so close that I have drawings on my desk."
lwodraska@sltrib.com
