EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the first of a three-part series on University of North Texas’ Fouts Field — its history, its current-day status and the possibility of it being replaced in the future. Today’s story focuses on why UNT officials and fans believe Fouts Field needs to be replaced.

Villarreal

From the window of his office in the Mean Green Athletic Center, Rick Villarreal can see the land where he hopes the crown jewel of his tenure at the University of North Texas will someday sit in the Mean Green Athletic Village.

The former University of Southern Mississippi official put a new football stadium in his long-term plans the moment he took over as the athletic director at UNT in 2001. After what has transpired over the last few months, those plans seem closer to reality.

Villarreal has overseen the completion of a few other facilities, which were included in the initial plans for his tenure at UNT and in November, accepted the largest donation in athletic department history. Those events were a prelude to what many believe will be the most important move of all in making a new stadium a reality — hiring former Southlake Carroll head coach Todd Dodge to take over the football program.

Dodge

The former Mean Green passing game coordinator won four Class 5A state titles in five years using a wide-open spread offense at Carroll before taking over at UNT in December. Since hiring their new coach, UNT officials have been far more open about their desire to replace Fouts Field — a facility built in 1952 — with a 30,000-seat stadium that could be expanded in the future.

“A stadium has always been a part of our master plan,” Villarreal said. “It was phase two or three of the process. If you look around today, most of the first two phases are complete, which has allowed us in the last six months to turn our attention to building a new stadium.”

Villarreal and UNT president Gretchen Bataille both have stated publicly that the school is raising money for a new football stadium and that the early stages of a capital campaign are underway.

DRC file photo

University of North Texas's Fouts Field has been the home of the Mean Green since 1952.

The challenge now for UNT is determining how it can raise the money to complete what would be the biggest — not to mention most expensive — project in athletic department history. Villarreal estimated the facility UNT wants to build to replace Fouts would cost about $52 million.

Both Villarreal and Bataille said the university has yet to commit to a timetable for breaking ground on a new facility.

Villarreal raised $12.3 million in the first five years of his six-year tenure at UNT and set the high-water mark for fundraising in athletic department history in November, when local businessman Al Goldfield and his wife, Shirley, gave $1.5 million to develop a plan for a new stadium.

UNT is in the process of determining if officials can quickly raise the money it needs to make a new stadium a reality through selling the naming rights to various parts of the stadium, landing high-dollar donations and getting more from the average fan.

UNT provided a figure of $1.5 million in response to a Freedom of Information Act request asking for the amount of money pledged by UNT boosters and businesses for a new stadium but did not provide a sum set aside for a stadium by the university.

“There is a real desire to replace Fouts Field and it’s in the long-range plan,” Bataille said. “What we are doing now is assessing the possibility of undertaking the project.”

UNT’s most ardent supporters believe that a closer examination will show the school is in position to replace a facility that opened when Harry Truman was president, Rocky Marciano was the world heavy-weight boxing champion and Mr. Potato Head was a new brand of toy.

“Having Coach Dodge here increases my confidence that we can get a stadium built,” UNT fan and 1997 graduate Evan Dolezal said. “Everyone seems willing to follow him almost blindly. People showed up at the spring game who have not been there before, and we haven’t even played a game yet. I think that can translate into getting more donors.”

Why replace Fouts now?

Over the course of Fouts Field’s lifetime, UNT has increased the facility’s seating to 30,500, replaced the playing surface twice, installed a scoreboard with a replay screen and spruced up the venue countless times.

And yet, one fact remains the same: UNT officials believe they would be better off replacing Fouts Field than continuing to renovate it.

The original concrete stands on either side of the field seat a total of 20,000 and a track circles the field, putting fans farther away from the action.

“We all know that Fouts is outdated,” Villarreal said. “We are doing a lot of work this summer and will redo our restrooms and concourses, but the reality is that Fouts does not have the amenities that lend itself to being the kind of venue we would like to have for our fans.”

One common complaint about Fouts Field is that the stands are set so far back from the field that the fans do not feel as involved in the action as they do at other stadiums.

“It’s the absolutely the worst place I have been to see a game,” UNT fan Rick McKinney said. “I have been to places where I had an obstructed view, and I still could yell and cheer and feel like I am helping to give the players a home-field advantage.”

The facility also leaves a lot to be desired for UNT’s players and coaches, despite all the time and money the school has put into it. The locker rooms are small and cramped, and the stadium shows its age.

Texas and Texas A&M have been able to keep Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and Kyle Field, which were built in 1924 and 1927, respectively, viable through extensive renovations. Even with the work that has been done at Fouts Field, there is little doubt that UNT is at a disadvantage when compared to the Texas teams it competes against for recruits and recognition.

Southern Methodist University built Gerald J. Ford Stadium in 2000, and high school stadiums that rival Fouts in terms of their amenities and atmosphere are also being built at a rapid rate. The Denton school district opened C.H. Collins Athletic Complex, a 12,000-seat facility that cost $21 million, before the 2004 season.

For programs like SMU, their home stadium can be a selling point in recruiting. UNT is in a situation where it must overcome playing in Fouts Field while trying to build for the future.

“Facilities are a recruiting tool; there is no other way to put it,” said Jeremy Crabtree, a recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. “When you go out and recruit against your peers like SMU, which has a nice stadium, it makes it tough. It’s not the only thing kids look at, but it is a factor. North Texas is talking a lot about what could be there in the future from talking with the players they have recruited. That is a big positive for them.”

Making it happen

Over the last few years, Villarreal has examined just about every possible way to finance building a new stadium and has come to one conclusion.

The project will take the involvement of more than just a few UNT fans. “The stadium is something everyone wants, but you have to make sure that it is something that everyone will support to offset the cost,” Villarreal said. “You have to do some studies and look at some issues before you commit to a project of this size. This is not something we can do on limited funds.”

UNT is examining a number of ways to raise funds, including selling the naming rights for the stadium. The fact the proposed stadium would sit on the juncture of the east and west branches of Interstate 35 could make the naming rights enticing enough to bring UNT several million dollars.

The university is also courting boosters who could give the large donations that could push the project forward more rapidly.

“We have the ability to get larger donations for a stadium than we have in the past,” Bataille said. “But we also want to keep the project in perspective in terms of the overall university and its needs.”

Last year T. Boone Pickens gave $165 million to the athletic department at Oklahoma State University, his alma mater. Gerald J. Ford gave SMU $20 million toward the construction of the stadium that bears his name in Dallas.

UNT is known more for its music and arts programs than its business college — the school that most often produces the biggest donors to universities’ athletic departments. The lack of high-dollar donors is just one of a few obstacles for UNT. The universities’ efforts could also be hurt by an inconsistent athletic history that includes some lost years along with a few great moments.

NFL legend “Mean” Joe Greene played for the Mean Green in the 1960s, Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry stalked the sideline at UNT in the mid-1970s and former head football coach Darrell Dickey led UNT to four consecutive Sun Belt Conference titles from 2001-04.

Those good times were spread around a stay in Division I-AA from 1983-94 and several long stretches of consecutive losing seasons. UNT lost entire generations of potential fans during seasons when Mean Green football was viewed as a second-tier program.

The school also won’t be able to use taxpayer money to build a stadium like some Texas high schools have during the past few years.

All the money UNT needs will have to come from corporate partnerships, naming rights deals and a fundraising campaign that UNT will eventually push aggressively after a silent phase.

UNT officials believe the time for pushing a new stadium is drawing closer now that Dodge has arrived to drive interest in the program. Several UNT fans said they have faith that Villarreal’s vision will soon become a reality.

“North Texas will be able to do it,” fan Jeff Roeling said. “It might take a few years, but Rick has been able to put together packages in the past to get things done. I have faith that it will happen.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

TEXAS COLLEGE FOOTBALL STADIUMS

The following is a list of the venues for the 10 Division I-A college football teams in Texas, the teams that play in them and the year they were built.

Ford Field (SMU) — 2000

Sun Bowl (UTEP) — 1963

Fouts Field (UNT) — 1952

Floyd Casey Stadium (Baylor) — 1950

Rice Stadium (Rice) — 1950

Jones AT&T Stadium (Texas Tech) — 1947

Robertson Stadium (Houston)   — 1941

Kyle Field (Texas A&M) — 1927

Amon Carter Stadium (TCU) —1929

Texas Memorial Stadium (Texas) — 1924

FOUTS FIELD UPGRADES

The following is a brief list of some of the major Fouts Field improvements.

1986 — A $2 million project was completed to replace the grass field with Astroturf and put an artificial surface on what was a cinder track.

1994 — A $1 million project to add 10,000 seats is completed, expanding the capacity of the field to 30,500.

2005 — UNT spends $665,000 to replace the Astroturf surface with a Sportexe turf that closely resembles grass.