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![]() Front of Apogee Stadium
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Former names | Mean Green Stadium (2009–2011) |
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Location | Denton, Texas |
Coordinates | 33°12′13″N 97°9′34″W / 33.20361°N 97.15944°WCoordinates: 33°12′13″N 97°9′34″W / 33.20361°N 97.15944°W |
Owner | University of North Texas System |
Operator | University of North Texas Athletic Department |
Executive suites | 21[1] |
Capacity | 30,850 |
Record attendance | 28,075 vs. Houston Cougars September 10, 2011 |
Field size | 360 feet (110 m) x 160 feet (49 m) |
Acreage | 46 acres (19 ha)[2] |
Surface | PowerBlade HP + artificial turf[3] |
Scoreboard | 47 ft × 27 ft (14.3 m × 8.2 m) (primary) 27 ft × 15 ft (8.2 m × 4.6 m) (secondary)[4] |
Construction | |
Broke ground | November 21, 2009 |
Built | 2009–2011 |
Opened | September 10, 2011 |
Construction cost | $78 million[5] |
Architect | HKS, Inc. |
Project manager | Greg Whittemore[6] |
Structural engineer | Rogers Moore Engineers Walter P Moore Engineers and Consultants[7] |
Services engineer | Henneman Engineering |
General contractor | Manhattan Construction Company[8] |
Tenants | |
North Texas Mean Green football (2011–present) | |
Website | |
stadium |
Apogee Stadium is a college football stadium located in Denton, Texas, at the junction of Interstate 35 East and West. Opened in 2011, it is home to the University of North Texas (UNT) Mean Green football team, which competes in the Sun Belt Conference. The facility replaced Fouts Field, where the school's football program had been based since 1952.
The stadium was proposed by the University of North Texas System Board of Regents after the 2002 New Orleans Bowl; it was constructed at a cost of $78 million after a contentious student body election in 2008. It was originally named "Mean Green Stadium", but was renamed when ResNet provider Apogee purchased the naming rights in 2011. The stadium hosted its first major event on September 10, 2011 when the Mean Green lost 48–23 against the University of Houston Cougars.
The facility houses various amenities, including luxury boxes and an alumni pavilion, and uses environmental technology; it is the first newly built stadium to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. It can be reached by road, but because of traffic congestion on game days, many visitors park on the other side of Interstate 35 and cross a pedestrian bridge to reach the stadium.
In 2002, a referendum for a higher student athletics fee was rejected by 55 percent of UNT's voting students. After the vote, however, school administrators lobbied UNT Student Government Association (SGA) senators to increase the fee as a way to help the university's athletics program achieve Title IX compliance. The student senators then approved a student fee of roughly half the proposed increase, which the Board of Regents implemented immediately. Consequently, students mounted a recall election campaign, supported by documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, which resulted in the removal of 14 student senators from office.[9][10]
In 2002, the university purchased land on the opposite side of Interstate 35 from the main campus in Denton, Texas from Liberty Christian School for $5.1 million.[11] Following the football team's victory at the 2002 New Orleans Bowl, school administrators announced their intent to build an assortment of new athletic facilities on the property, collectively referred to as the Mean Green Village, as well as a new football stadium. The new stadium would replace Fouts Field, where the school's football team had been based since 1952. Richard Raefs, then vice chancellor of administrative affairs at UNT, claimed that renovating Fouts Field would cost $8 million more than building an entirely new stadium and that the project's primary objective was the consolidation of academic facilities.[12]
In 2005, the Board of Regents released a long-term campus master plan that included a proposed new stadium with a capacity of 35,000 and an estimated cost "in excess of $35 million".[13] UNT athletic director Rick Villareal stated that the university would use only private fundraising, rather than another increase in students' fees, to pay for any new facilities, including a stadium. He said, "we have a mandate here. We haven't built anything or will build anything without raising the money ourselves", and that the new stadium would cost $40 million and seat 50,000 spectators.[14] The athletic department changed that capacity estimate in 2007 to 32,000 with the possibility of later expansion to 50,000.[15]
In 2008, the athletic department tried again to increase the athletics fee to pay for the new stadium, which now had an estimated cost of $60 million. SGA student senators voted to hold a student election on the referendum to approve the new fee, which amounted to a net increase of $7 per credit hour for each student, or approximately $840 per student over the course of four years.[10][Note 1] The athletic department made a concerted effort to promote the higher fee to students, and supporters suggested hiring street preachers or troubadours to promote the election.[17] A month before the election, athletic director Rick Villareal said that the stadium was "not some arms race for us" and that the fee's objective was not just to keep up with other universities.[18]
The referendum was held in October 2008, with the text:
In order for the University of North Texas to have a better Athletic program, which in turn can lead to national exposure and increased recognition of UNT; I agree to a dedicated Athletic Fee not to exceed $10 per semester credit hour, capped at 15 hours. Once the Athletic Fee is implemented, the Student Service Fee will be reduced by $3 per semester credit hour. The Athletic Fee shall not be implemented until the semester the new football stadium is complete, which is expected to be fall 2011.[19]
On October 21, 2008, the UNT SGA announced that in one of the largest turnouts in the school's history, student voters approved a dedicated athletic fee to fund the new stadium. Almost 14 percent of the student body voted, with 2,829 students (58.1%) voting for the increase and 2,038 (41.9%) voting against it. After the election, the cost estimate for the stadium's construction increased by $18 million to $78 million, $38 million more than the 2005 estimate.[20] At a press conference with then head football coach Todd Dodge, Villarreal said, "there's an arms race going on going on with facilities. This one will put us up there with everybody else."[21] In February 2009, the school's chapter of Students for a Democratic Society unsuccessfully attempted to petition for a re-vote on the referendum.[22]
In February 2008, the school selected HKS, Inc. to provide architectural and design services for the proposed new stadium.[23] The university hired Manhattan Construction Company in 2009 to provide pre-construction and construction services.[8] Prior to the groundbreaking ceremony on November 21, 2009, then President of UNT Gretchen Bataille said that of the approximately $78 million needed to pay for the new stadium, the department had raised $5 million.[24] Construction officially finished on July 20, 2011.[25] On August 11, 2011, UNT announced a deal with Austin-based ResNet provider Apogee for the naming rights to the new stadium, and the name was changed to "Apogee Stadium".[26] According to the contract, Apogee will pay $11.8 million of the $20 million deal in cash over 20 years, including graduated annual payments beginning at $312,000 and ending in three payments of $1 million. The remaining $8.29 million will be in the form of in-kind services. As part of the contract, Apogee also received one luxury suite in the new stadium and premium tickets to other UNT events.[27]
The stadium hosted its first game on September 10, 2011, when the Mean Green lost 48–23 against the University of Houston Cougars. Despite the concerted efforts of the university and the athletic department, the first home game at the new stadium did not sell out, and the game attracted 28,075 spectators, 2,775 fewer than full capacity.[28][29] Although attendees' reception to the opening game was generally positive,[30] attendance dropped to 21,181 for the second home game against the Indiana University Hoosiers.[31] By the third home game against the Florida Atlantic University Owls, attendance had dropped to a season-low of 13,142.[32] To promote the final home game of the season against the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders, the university offered free tickets to some athletic booster club members,[33] and head football coach Dan McCarney promoted the game with an op-ed in the school's student newspaper, the North Texas Daily.[34] The official attendance for the final game was 15,962, bringing the total home attendance for the year to 113,186, a new record for the Mean Green.[35] For the 2011 season, the stadium averaged 18,864 spectators per home game, which is 61.15% of the facility's capacity of 30,850,[36] and the team ended the season ranked 98th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in average home attendance.[37] The team finished with five wins and seven losses, its best record since the 2004 season.[35]
Apogee Stadium occupies 426,300 square feet (39,600 m2) on 46 acres (19 ha) of land.[2][38] Stands on the north, east, and west sides of the stadium seat 30,850 and form a horseshoe shape around a standard American football field. The field's surface is PowerBlade HP +, a type of artificial turf comprising synthetic fibers with a rubber and sand infill.[3] Unlike Fouts Field, Apogee Stadium does not have an all-weather running track, and spectators are set approximately 33 feet (10 m) closer to the field.[Note 2] The home side stands are located on the west side of the stadium. They include 21 luxury suites, which the athletic department sells for $20,000 per year plus a "six- or seven-figure gift to the Stadium Fund",[1] and 754 club seats, which can be purchased with a one-time gift of $3,125 to $12,500, in addition to an annual $500 donation to the athletic department and the cost of season tickets.[40] A Mean Green Gear Store is located underneath the stands at Gate 2 on the west side of the stadium.[41] The stands on the east side of the field are generally reserved for student seating;[42] behind them is a path-defined tailgating area called "The Hill".[43] The seating behind the north end zone forms a distinctive "V" shape intended to resemble an eagle's wings in flight.[44] The tips of the "wings" reach 106 feet (32 m) above the field.[4] There is no seating behind the south end zone, but the area includes a 47-by-27-foot (14.3 m × 8.2 m) scoreboard and a 5-foot (1.5 m) bronze bust of an eagle.[45] The bust is named "Spiriki", and was donated by members of the Geezles, the school's first social fraternity.[46] A separate 2,500-square-foot (230 m2) pavilion for alumni is located just north of the stadium.[47]
In 2008, then president of UNT Gretchen Bataille signed the American College and University President's Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and ensure that all new university buildings and facilities would achieve a minimum of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification.[48] In 2011, Apogee Stadium became the first newly built stadium to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest level of certification awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council.[49] The points-based ratings system measures various environmental aspects including water efficiency, energy conservation, indoor air quality, and sustainability.[50]
While planning the stadium's construction, the university consulted HKS, Inc. to design it to meet a number of green building standards and hired FocusEGD, an environmental graphic design firm, to design many of the stadium's graphic elements.[51] Apogee Stadium uses various forms of environmental technology. To reduce water consumption and urban runoff, the facility includes a 85,000-square-foot (7,900 m2) water retention system, 338,000 square feet (31,400 m2) of permeable paving, and low-flow plumbing systems.[2][52] To minimize the human impact on the environment, developers took advantage of the landscape around the stadium whenever possible.[53] The facility also includes three Northwind 100 wind turbines, which were completed in February 2012.[54] To fund the turbine project, the Texas State Energy Conservation Office allocated $2 million in stimulus funds to the university.[55] The 120-foot (37 m) turbines each have three 30-foot (9.1 m) blades and are expected to produce a combined 450,000 kilowatt-hours (1,600 GJ) of energy per year, which would account for roughly a third of the stadium's energy needs[56] and offset 323 metric tons (323,000 kg) of carbon dioxide emissions.[53] Dallas Business Journal named the stadium the "Green Project Deal of the Year" in 2012.[57]
Apogee Stadium is located on Bonnie Brae Street at the junction of Interstate 35, East and West in the northeast part of Denton, Texas.[58] In February 2003, the school conducted studies to identify potential traffic problems in the area.[59] The results of the studies indicated that the intersection of Bonnie Brae Street and Airport Road represented a potential major traffic hazard, since the two-lane Bonnie Brae Street could not accommodate the additional game day traffic, and Airport Road would be needed for access to Denton Municipal Airport to the north. Initially, university officials planned to address some concerns by rerouting season ticket holders through the surrounding neighborhoods, but in 2009, residents expressed concerns that the stadium could clog traffic systems in the area.[60] Consequently, the City of Denton passed an ordinance to shut down the area streets on game days to anyone without a resident's permit.[61][62]
To encourage the use of sustainable transportation, developers limited the quantity of parking spaces on site.[53] The facility includes 1,758 parking spaces adjacent to the stadium,[2] but to access it on the day of an event, most attendees park at Fouts Field on the opposite side of Interstate 35E and walk across the North Texas Boulevard overpass, which leads to the stadium.[63] In August 2011, the university announced plans to address another area of the concern from the 2002 studies by building a new pedestrian bridge across the highway.[64] The $2.5 million bridge, a joint project between the university and the Texas Department of Transportation, is expected to be finished before the final home game of the 2012 football season.[65] Attendees can also take the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) A-train to the Downtown Denton Transit Center and take a taxi to the stadium.[66]
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