Populous designs Kyle Field redevelopment

Kyle Field has been regarded as one of the most intimidating college football stadiums in the nation. Located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, it has been the home to the Texas A&M Aggie football team in rudimentary form since 1904, and as a complete stadium since 1927.

Known as ‘Home of the 12th Man’, the current official stadium seating capacity of 106,511 in 2014 makes the stadium’s seating capacity the largest in the state of Texas and the largest in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the third largest stadium in the NCAA, the third largest stadium in the United States, and the fifth largest non-racing stadium in the world.

Texas A&M announced a $450 million renovation of Kyle Field on May 1, 2013, when the seating capacity of the stadium was 82,589. The renovation and expansion, designed by architecture firm Populous, will increase capacity to 102,500 and be completed without interrupting Texas A&M’s football schedule, allowing the team to continue to play at Kyle Field until its reopening.

Capacity will be 106,511 for the 2014 season and while it will drop to its final number of 102,500 by 2015, Kyle Field will still remain the largest stadium in the SEC.

As part of the Phase I of the redevelopment plan, in November 2013 the demolition of the first deck of the east side was undertaken. Subsequently the re-construction of the first deck started along with the construction of the south endzone, which include seating, media interview areas, 12th Man Productions and related gameday support, a commissary and recruiting area.

The Phase II is scheduled to begin in November 2014 which will entail the demolition of the entire west side of the stadium, complete construction of the south endzone, and re-construction of the west side.

When completed in August 2015, Kyle Field will represent the most extensive redevelopment of a collegiate athletic facility in history and will serve as a benchmark for future redevelopment projects at colleges across the nation. Centered around ‘The Home of the 12thMan’, this project embodies the belief that at Texas A&M, fans don’t just watch the game, they affect the game.

According to recent media reports, Craig Kaufman of the architectural firm Populous said canopies over the east and west sides of the new Kyle Field will make it at least as loud as the Seattle Seahawks’ football stadium – which recently was recorded as the loudest on record. Also, a new video board, measuring 7,661 square feet, will be installed on the south side.

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