UWG: Stadium Funding, Construction on Pace

Summer is just kicking off, but it won’t be long until players, coaches and fans will be gearing up to kick off another football season at the University of West Georgia. And this coming season, the Wolves football program takes a major step forward with the opening of a new on-campus stadium that is generating excitement throughout the UWG athletics community.

The stadium will be the crown jewel of a $34 million, 250-acre athletics complex that will help promote UWG as a destination institution both academically and athletically.

The university, through private fundraising and student fees, has successfully financed the bulk of the project, and is continuing to generate sponsorship opportunities for the athletics complex and its individual components, which include an administrative field house, women’s sports field house, softball field, soccer field and two football practice fields.

“We are thrilled at the response we’ve received in our fundraising efforts for the stadium, and we are excited about how exceptionally well the entire project is progressing,” said Daryl Dickey, UWG football coach and acting athletics director. “But as we continue to build a place to call home, we need more help and would greatly appreciate any support that would be available from the community.”

Nicole Worthington, UWG’s director of development, said the stadium’s naming opportunities enable supporters to help extend the university’s reach athletically, which in turn allows it to enhance and promote its academic standing.

“This is a great time to honor someone by naming a skybox or other designated area of the athletics complex,” she said. “Since it’s still in construction, many of the naming opportunities are still available. We are definitely seeing renewed interest and enthusiasm as the opening day gets closer.”

Sponsorship opportunities include such plans as the chair-back program, which allows donors to have recognition plates placed on seats in the reserved seating section. At $2,500 per seat, this plan gives donors first access to the named seats with purchase of a season ticket package. The stadium will contain more than 1,000 of these designated seats.

Also available are Recognition Tiles, which are named brick tiles in the main entry corridor of the stadium that are available during construction and after completion of the complex, also at a contribution level of $2,500.

Honor Columns allow donors to have a recognition plate placed on the brick columns near the stadium, with priority placement based on the order and timing of the naming agreement. This arrangement is $25,000, and lets the donor purchase four season tickets and receive a parking pass.

The stadium also offers 12 VIP Suites, of which four are available, that would allow a $250,000 donor to have a recognition plate placed in the suite, and to have first access to lease the suite for an annual fee.

The stadium’s construction is proceeding on schedule, and the facility is set to be christened for the Wolves’ home opener on Sept. 5 against Lambuth University.

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