Upgrades planned in Pullman

Washington State athletic director Jim Sterk couldn’t help but indulge in a little wishful thinking as he stood in Stanford’s brand-new stadium before Saturday’s game between the Cougars and the Cardinal.

WSU’s Pac-10 opponent, in a much-publicized effort, razed the old Stanford Stadium and then built an entirely new one inside the old site – all in a single off-season.

“I’m a little jealous,” Sterk said. “Their main (donor), I think he had the construction permit. But if you’ll notice, his name’s on quite a few buildings around campus, too.”

That main man is exactly what Sterk doesn’t have in his own effort to upgrade Martin Stadium in Pullman. Nonetheless, using a wholly different model, Sterk and WSU are making progress.

With a student fee passed last spring, Sterk reaffirmed that construction is set to begin shortly after the 2006 season. Work will commence on the north, south and east ends of the stadium.

“Most of the north and south will be done, and I think the east will have some front or façade” in time for the start of the 2007 season, Sterk said.

That timeline still depends on a variety of outside factors, but it appears that WSU has the funding more or less in place to take care of those projects, known as Phases I and II of the Martin Stadium renovation. Under the current timeline, the stadium would have widened concourses with additional restrooms and concessions, with the planned entryway along Stadium Way a work in progress when the next football season begins.

Sterk said that WSU will be issuing the bonds based on future revenues from the student fee in January.