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Sun Bowl gets a facelift
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Stadium renovations underway
Darren Hunt
El Paso Times
The Sun Bowl is undergoing about $380,000 in renovations this summer, including a "facelift" on one end of the stadium, prior to the start of one of the most anticipated UTEP football seasons in school history.
Among the changes to the 42-year-old facility, according to athletic department officials, is new signage throughout the 51,500-seat stadium, new wiring for the light standards and a fresh face on the south side that resembles the Bhutanese village architecture found throughout the 366-acre UTEP campus.
"We think it's going to provide a great facelift for the stadium," UTEP senior associate athletic director Mack Rhoades said. "It's designed to look just like the north end of the stadium and the Larry Durham Center."
Approximately $40,000 worth of labor and materials is being donated for the south end changes by the Associated General Contractors of El Paso, which includes KWAL Hanley Paint, VEMAC-Construction, Sunsets West, Gorman Moisture Protection, Manny Carrizal Painting and other businesses.
"The texturing, in 'UTEP beige,' will all be finished by (today)," said Joe Gomez, executive vice president of the Associated General Contractors of El Paso. "The only thing left will be to manufacture and set the tiles in the 'mandelas,' the medallions that give the buildings the Bhutanese look."
He said next year's project is to do the same thing on the exterior of the Sun Bowl press box.
"We think the whole city of El Paso is fired up about last year's football team and this coming season under (head coach) Mike Price," Gomez said. "Last week when we were doing all the priming work, coach Price came down from his office and introduced himself to all the workers and thanked them. We're trying to make this place look like 'The House that Coach Price Built.'"
The target date for completion of the south end renovations is Aug. 1. Gomez said it took more than 100 gallons of textured paint to cover the area, near the old Sun Bowl locker rooms.
Flags representing the 12 schools in Conference USA, UTEP's new league, also will be added to the north concourse prior to the Sept. 16 home opener against Houston, which will be nationally televised. UTEP banners also will be added throughout the stadium.
The new signage being added will be for seating and concessions. And the upgrade in lighting wiring will not provide any additional illumination, but rather is designed to prevent any possible problems in the future. Rhoades estimated $100,000 to $150,000 is spent annually on maintenance of the stadium.
UTEP already has sold more than 12,600 football season tickets for its six-game home schedule. The school is launching its Miner Athletic Club Team Fund Drive today, which is designed as a final push for additional season ticket sales and donations for both football and basketball.
"We have more people selling tickets than we've ever had before," said Darren D'Attilio, assistant athletic director for development at UTEP. "There's just great enthusiasm this year. We have about 150 people participating, and I think the most we've ever had is 125."
UTEP uses the volunteer base to reach out to the community. The Miner Athletic Club, formerly the Miner Foundation, has more than doubled in size -- to approximately 1,600 -- since it changed names about seven years ago. D'Attilio said just since last year's 8-4 EV1.net Houston Bowl season, the first under Price, membership has jumped an estimated 25 percent.
"Now our goal is to go out and sell 15,000 football season tickets," he said, "but really, we're shooting for as many as we can get until we stop selling them."
Darren Hunt may be reached at dhunt@elpasotimes.com; 546-6168
Here is the link (it has pictures): http://www.borderlandnews.com/apps/p...507200340/1002