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New premium seating — and other changes — could be coming to Utah’s football stadium

Utah’s athletic director said the program is surveying new ways to improve the fan experience at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) As the University of Utah partners with the private-equity firm Otro Capital, changes could be coming to Rice-Eccles Stadium.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) As the University of Utah partners with the private-equity firm Otro Capital, changes could be coming to Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Rice-Eccles Stadium already has a new LED lighting system ready for its college football Saturdays.

Now more improvements could be on the way, according to Utah athletic director Mark Harlan.

In the north end zone, the Utes are looking to potentially add on-field, premium suites to their football stadium.

“I think we’re going to do some suites on the field, or some kind of box seating,” Harlan said at Big 12 Media Days. “We’ve seen that around the conference the last few years, so we’re going to look at that.

Harlan also cautioned that the potential changes will “not block” the view of fans sitting in the north endzone seats.

As part of the U.’s private-equity deal with Otro Capital, which will move the program’s revenue-generating assets to the new Crimson Brand Partners company, other changes could be on the way for Ute fans.

“They’re going to examine everything from concessions to the game,” Harlan said. “They’re finalizing their hire for their game-experience coordinator, who’s going to have, I think, a lot of professional experience to run all our games. So I think they’ll see that stuff, but not right away.”

Crimson Brand Partners has already been scouting new revenue opportunities at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Harlan said. During last week’s Monster Jam World Finals, the company got its first glimpse of what’s capable at the stadium.

Next, Rice-Eccles will play host to Post Malone on July 28, giving the company another opportunity to survey the stadium and its operations.

“They were a part of the big events at the stadium the last week. They saw a lot of things that we need to work on. That’s part of that,” Harlan said. “They’re going to learn a lot more when the Post Malone stuff comes up, and then eventually get ready for our [football] opener.”

Harlan said there are limitations to the stadium’s infrastructure, which will require enhancements over time.

”Eventually ... the customer satisfaction is going to go up," he said. “I mean, we’re still challenged in the stadium. They’re not going to come in here overnight and make the concourses bigger. But we can be smarter on some things, and we can provide more opportunities.”

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