After a couple years of challenges, Memorial Stadium at UC Berkeley finally received approval from a University of California panel, for their $320 million renovation. This famous stadium is over 80 years old, but unfortunately it straddles the Hayward fault line. Therefore the old construction of Memorial Stadium needs this retrofit so that it can survive a major earthquake which seismologists predict is likely in this area. While this is not a great economic time to spend this amount of money on a renovation, it was stated by University of California leaders that no public money will be used on this retrofit project. Thursday is when the final vote will be decided by the full board, and if approved, work could begin early in the summer later this year.
One of the interesting things to note is that this retrofit project would reduce the overall capacity of Memorial Stadium from 71,799 to 62,717. The seismic retrofit will force the stadium to close during the 2011 football season, and games will be played at an off-campus location. It is expected that the team will return to the stadium for the 2012 football season. Not much was said as to how this reduction in seating capacity will effect long term revenues for the football team. California universities and colleges with football teams tend to drive significant revenues and publicity for the schools. Having the seating of a stadium reduced by over 10% is a significant amount that will have to be made up somehow. Overall this change will help to secure the safety of thousands of people who attend UC Berkeley football games.
