BLOOMINGTON — Indiana’s athletic department moved forward with some much-needed upgrades to the football facilities this summer as it keeps an eye on Memorial Stadium’s future.
Scott Dolson, IU’s athletic director, continues to work behind the scenes on the long-gestating plan to modernize the 65-year-old venue. The project dates back to a survey sent out to fans ahead of the 2023 season.
While he isn’t ready to reveal the size and scope of the potential renovations, the Hoosiers aren’t standing still.
There’s a new playing surface being installed at Memorial Stadium that will be ready for fall camp and $3 million worth of work being done at Mellencamp Pavilion. The athletic department is also prepping additional gameday upgrades for fans this fall.
“With the stadium project, we want to make certain we are putting together a master plan while we are in a silent fundraising phase and assembling the right key leadership gifts that can get it off the ground,” Dolson said, in an interview with The Herald-Times. “You kind of try to make that happen at the same time we have these other projects going.”
Indiana fast tracks upgrades for Memorial Stadium and Mellencamp Pavilion
Indiana took a step towards renovating Mellencamp Pavilion — a 100,000 square foot indoor practice facility that dates back to 1996 — by replacing the playing surface last year, but this summer’s upgrades are far more extensive.
The athletic department is installing a new HVAC system, replacing the lighting and updating the branding.
“The Mellencamp Pavilion is going to look brand new,” Dolson said. “It’s going to look awesome.”
Indiana hired the same company, Hellas, that installed a monofilament turf system at Mellencamp Pavilion last year to replace the playing surface at Memorial Stadium. The turf at Memorial Stadium was last replaced in 2016, and the project is expected to cost $1.1 million.
According to the company’s website, 14 NFL teams along with the likes of Clemson, Georgia and Nebraska utilize the same playing surface.
Those projects jumped to the front of the line as Dolson and head coach Curt Cignetti mapped out the needs of the football team. The university also recently put the finishing touches on a dedicated weight room for the football team in the North End Zone, a project that predated Cignetti’s arrival in Bloomington.
“Scott and I talk about long-term, short-term, what’s most important to get done right now so we are on the same page?” Cignetti told The Herald-Times.
For fans, Indiana will again expand its premium seating options at Memorial Stadium in 2025 to include the East Side Club — a dedicated indoor lounge for fans purchasing tickets in sections 25-28 (row 7-20) — along with two new field-level suits on the west side of the stadium.
It comes on the heels of IU overhauling the venue’s concession stands last year.
Indiana partnered with Levy Restaurants to introduce new menus and substantially increase the number of vendors to include local favorites like BuffaLouie’s, Yogi’s, Social Cantina and Aver’s Pizza.
Indiana football laying groundwork for future Memorial Stadium renovations
Dolson has long said improving the fan experience at Memorial Stadium is his top priority when discussing renovating the venue. That hasn’t changed as he works hand-in-hand with university planners to develop a master plan for the stadium’s future.
The university isn’t operating under any sort of ”hard timeline” for breaking ground on the project, but the recent settlement in the House v. NCAA case might accelerate the fundraising side of things.
“We have to see where NIL goes, and the clearinghouse will start July 1. Does the fundraising pressure on that come down a little that allows us to maybe look over here a little more? It’s not like this project is completely separate,” Dolson said. “It all impacts each other, and balancing all of that is important.”
Cignetti hopes he can help Dolson out this fall by building on the historic success IU had last season.
“I think if you string together years, things happen,” Cignetti said. “I plan on strengthening this brand, and there’s some nice stadium enhancements that we are in need of that don’t happen like that (snaps fingers). They take time.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: How Indiana is upgrading its football facilities ahead of the 2025 season
