By Associated Press
Tuscaloosa, AL – Its football team ranked No. 1 and with fans clamoring for more tickets, University of Alabama trustees voted Thursday to move ahead with plans for an $81 million expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The project, which would increase the stadium's capacity by about 9,000 seats to more than 101,000, would be funded with a bond issue, but officials said there is no firm timetable for the work.
A trustee committee approved an artist's rendering of the project, which would add upper deck seats, skyboxes, group areas, offices, video screens and concourse areas to the south end zone, creating a near-mirror image of an expansion completed two years ago.
The full board is expected to approve the project Friday, but Lane said still more votes will be needed before the expansion plan is final.
The north end zone was enlarged to increase the capacity of Bryant-Denny to 92,138 before the 2006 season.