Southern Methodist University announced plans to develop a $100 million, three-tiered end zone complex on the south side of Ford Stadium. The development was made possible by Garry Weber’s foundation with its sizable donation of $50 million. Weber, who is a 1958 alumnus, has now made the largest athletic department donation in the school’s history.
SMU has committed over a quarter of a billion dollars to athletics projects since 2013. These investments include the Armstrong Fieldhouse, which is an indoor performance center near Ford Stadium, and the Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium, set to open in the spring.
The new complex, formally named The Garry Weber End Zone Complex, will be 192,500 square feet and will serve as both an upgrade to SMU’s facilities and a modernization of Ford Stadium.
The space will house new locker rooms, weight rooms, position-specific meeting rooms, a full kitchen and training table, and an auditorium for the football program.
SMU’s current seating capacity is 32,000 people, but the expansion is expected to increase that number. The details of the increase won’t be known until the project’s design process is completed.
Facilities are the visible, tangible sign of commitment,” said Rick Hart, who is the athletic director at SMU. “You can touch them, feel them, and see them. And when we say we want to compete at the highest level, we don’t know what that means; nobody does. There’s a lot of changes going on in Division I athletics, but in order to do that, you’ve got to continue to invest.”
Additionally, SMU’s President Gerald Turner said that he thinks the new facilities will be to students’ liking. There isn’t a set target date on when the project will break ground, but he said he hopes to have the remainder of the funds by the end of 2022.