New faces at AU

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New face at AU

Tuberville mural goes up at Jordan-Hare, along with dramatic improvements to concourses, concessions and restrooms

Friday, August 25, 2006

By EVAN WOODBERY

Sports Reporter

AUBURN -- There are a few new faces smiling down from the side of Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The three-year, $30.5 million renovation to the venerable stadium has given Auburn officials a chance to dust off the history books. With the opening game only nine days away, Auburn is in the process of replacing its large murals on the east side of the stadium's lower concourse.

A few of the new murals are already up: Tommy Tuberville's likeness has been added to a mural of historic Auburn coaches. Carlos Rogers (winner of the 2004 Jim Thorpe Award) is featured with Tracy Rocker (winner of the 1988 Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy) and Zeke Smith (winner of the 1959 Outland Trophy).

The mural that prominently featured former coach Terry Bowden being hoisted on his players' shoulders has been taken down.

When Auburn unveiled the 10 murals prior to the 1998 football season, the Bowden-coached Tigers were coming off a 10-win season in which they narrowly lost the SEC Championship Game. But Bowden resigned in 1998 after losing five of his first six games.

"As you continue with history, you periodically go back and update (the murals)," said Jeff Steele, Auburn's associate athletics director for facilities and operations. "We're adding some recent history and some different scenes."

Steele said he didn't believe the new murals would eliminate any part of Auburn's history.

"I don't think we've totally removed anyone altogether," he said. "They may have been repositioned. As you grow, you run out of space and have to tweak it a little bit."

While the murals will get plenty of talk, they're a small part of the exterior renovation work that was designed to make the stadium more aesthetically pleasing.

The three-phase project has also improved the inside of the stadium, where fans will notice bigger concourses, nicer concessions and more women's restrooms.

"It looks good," said Tuberville. "They've got TVs all the way down (the concourse). If you're out standing in line at the concession stand, you can still watch the game."

The brick fencing is meant to help the stadium look architecturally consistent with nearby Plainsman Park. Jordan-Hare Stadium has a new ticket window, also constructed in brick.

Near the ticket window, Auburn is in the process of creating a plaza that will eventually contain a statue of an eagle or a Tigers football great, Steele said.

Inside the stadium, Auburn has completed the final stage of the project that was originally approved by trustees back in 2003.

Prior to the 2004 season, Auburn added a dozen luxury suites, 224 club-level suites and refurbished the existing suites.

The 2005 work focused on the restrooms and concessions in the north and south end zones. This year's work focused on the east and west sides of the stadium.

"The women's restrooms will now outnumber men's two to one," Steele said. "We've expanded concessions opportunities so guests will get their Coca-Cola and popcorn a lot quicker."

The expanded concourses will also cut down on traffic jams.

"It will be a lot easier to move from one side to another," Steele said. "That will be dramatic."

Tuberville said he's been impressed by what he's seen of the concourse.

"It's going to give the folks a lot more room when they come out at halftime or between quarters," he said.

Then he joked: "I understand they've tripled the women's restrooms and there are no men's restrooms. All the men will have to go outside."

For fans who choose to stay inside, Auburn has added new scoreboards (complete with plenty of new advertisements).

The scoreboard in the north end zone has been enlarged, and signage has been added to the east and west levels. The side boards will scroll stats, scores and "crowd prompts" to urge fans to get involved, Steele said.

Auburn has also added signage displaying the names of Jordan-Hare Stadium and Pat Dye Field on alternating corners of the stadium.