The future of Texas A&M football looks incredibly bright at the moment. In their first season as members of the SEC, the Aggies compiled a 10-2 record and capped off their season with a blowout win over Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. Thanks in large part to the emergence of freshman Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, the team should be a national championship contender next season.
Rumor has it things could be getting even better for the SEC’s newest member in the near future. According to The Battalion, Texas A&M has reached an agreement with College Station community leaders on a $420 million renovation of Kyle Field, which would assure that the Aggies continue playing football games in College Station rather than moving to Houston.
And it looks snazzy. Doug Keegan, an SB Nation contributor, shared what he says are conceptual photos of the new stadium with Good Bull Hunting earlier this week. Those photos can be seen below, courtesy of Keegan’s Twitter account.
College Station Mayor Nancy Berry says none of the funding for the project will come from residents of the College Station community, but rather the revenue that will be generated from fans staying in hotels and patronizing businesses during football season and throughout the year. The new stadium could hold up to 100,000 people.
“More destinations mean more people will come to our community,” Berry explained. “They’ll stay in our hotels, they’ll eat in our restaurants, buy alcohol in our bars and buy gasoline on their way out of town.”
One aspect of the project that has been somewhat controversial is the renovation of stadium’s east side, which is the student section. The $75 million needed for that is expected to be generated from the student body by way of student fees, sports passes and increased ticket prices.
“I don’t think that students need to take all the responsibility of paying that much. As a student, you enjoy the facilities even if you don’t go to the football games … probably they could raise it in different ways,” Kun Qian, a sophomore nutrition and genetics double major, told The Battalion. “I personally don’t care, I don’t go to football games, and that’s not fair for me to have to pay part of that.”
The renovation is expected to be completed by 2015, meaning Manziel likely will not get to enjoy it. Fortunately, he has exhilarating events like this and this to keep him satisfied for now.
