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Florida State to discuss $285 million renovation to Doak Campbell Stadium

A board of trustees agenda also has a rendering of Doak with a roof structure.
Florida State football's Doak Campbell Stadium is in line for a major renovation.
Florida State football's Doak Campbell Stadium is in line for a major renovation. [ PHIL SEARS | AP (2022) ]
Published Sept. 5|Updated Sept. 6

Florida State will discuss approving up to $255 million in debt for major renovations to Doak Campbell Stadium, according to the agenda for FSU’s board of trustees meetings later this week.

The agenda includes an information item allowing the Seminoles’ direct-support organization, the FSU Athletics Association, to borrow the funds to make significant renovations to the west side and south end zone of the football stadium.

The proposal would remove 27,000 seats on the west side and add back 16,000. The work includes new club seating and a kitchen plus suites, lounges and “upgrades to antiquated infrastructure.” The stadium’s current capacity is 79,560.

The south end zone renovations would feature new loge boxes and installing “breathable mesh seats.”

The agenda item also has a May 2020 feasibility study by the consulting group CSL with an interesting rendering: Doak with what it calls a “roof structure.” That feature is not included in the proposal but is discussed in the study; the single most important enhancement, it says, is a roof structure. The 2020 report estimated a roof canopy would cost between $32 million and $60 million.

As part of the financial report, FSU lists $44.25 million in preliminary conference revenue in 2023. That figure grows to $60.6 million in 2028. Those figures are noteworthy given what happened at the last board meeting, when trustees and the school president openly discussed leaving the ACC because of its revenue gap with the SEC and Big Ten.

The $255 million debt figure does not include $8 million in previously received donations or $22 million in expected future contributions. For context, USF’s proposed on-campus stadium has a $340 million price tag, while $400 million is the starting point for upcoming renovations for the Gators’ Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

FSU’s full board is expected to discuss the stadium Friday.

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