Curtain opens on newest Liberty addition

The grand re-opening of the newly renovated Williams Stadium ended with a bang Saturday night.  A 15-minute display of fireworks was shot off toward the end of the game to celebrate the new addition of the press tower to Liberty Athletics.

The construction of the press tower began in January.  Delays due to snow and inclement weather set the construction behind schedule.  Because of the delays, the stadium was not able to be re-opened on the first home game, like Liberty Athletics had hoped.  But thanks to the hard work of the construction team from Branch & Associates, the stadium was able to be built in an extremely timely manner.

“I think it went exceptionally well,” Athletic Director Jeff Barber said. “They didn’t have a whole lot of time to do what they did and they have been absolutely fantastic.”

The new press tower and additional seating has been a long-time dream of Liberty Athletics and its completion, according to Barber, means so much to the university.

“I think its shows a commitment to being who Chancellor Falwell wants it to be and what Dr. Falwell set this school out to be,” Barber said.  “When you have outstanding facilities, it shows a commitment and it validates you’re commitment to being successful and doing things the right way.”

The press tower is five stories tall, featuring a new concessions concourse on the ground level.  The new Flames Club floor is the second largest banquet facility in Virginia.  There are 18 suites in the tower, all of which have been sold for the 2010 season.  The fifth floor is the press level, fully equipped with broadcast-ready cable boxes for television and radio.

The additional seating takes the capacity of Williams Stadium from 12,000 to 19,200.

Barber said that seeing the completed press tower brings the entire Liberty community together.

“I’ve had a number of Liberty alumni that have come over and just stood in the stadium or stood on the grass and looked at and have said, ‘This makes me so proud to tell people where I went to school’ and to me that a really neat thing,” Barber said.

The additional seating and the completion of the press tower is the first phase of construction to the complete renovation of Williams Stadium.  The second phase will be adding a deck on top of the current student section and the third phase will be enclosing the stadium with seating in the south end zone.  Once the last two phases are completed, the total seating capacity of Williams Stadium will be at 60,000.

“This stadium is not just a step forward of football or the university, it’s a leap forward.  A huge leap forward,” Barber said.

MARVEL is the sports editor.