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Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeSportsAPSU Governors Stadium walls to begin tumbling down

APSU Governors Stadium walls to begin tumbling down

APSU - Austin Peay State University SportsClarksville, TN – Take a quick trip through the bowels of Governors Stadium’s west side and it is easy to notice; the extraction already has begun.

Stored materials and debris—and any items deemed not necessary for Saturday’s 1:00pm Austin Peay-Southeast Missouri game—have been moved into the tunnel areas and walkways.

Yes, Governors Stadium (formerly Municipal Stadium) as many have known it for the past 67 years, will be undergoing a complete facelift to the stadium’s east or home side.

Austin Peay Governors Stadium. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Governors Stadium. (APSU Sports Information)

A ceremonial demolition will occur, Saturday, after the Governors final regular-season game and fans have evacuated the east side. Sledgehammers and other tools will be used to start taking down Governors Stadium near the vicinity of Gate 1.

The actual Governors Stadium takeover by Morgan Construction will take place next Tuesday. They are expected to have the east side to the ground by week’s end, with debris removed less than two weeks later. Score New Beginnings then will follow.

Although plans for a new football stadium surfaced many times in recent decade, APSU President Tim Hall’s focus to make a new stadium a reality began soon after his arrival in 2007, once he realized inadequacy of the current facility. He initiated a push to secure new stadium funds through budgeting and fundraising efforts. The project, approved in August 2012, will cost $16 million and is scheduled for completion for 2014 Football season start.

New Governors Stadium will seat approximately 10,000 fans and feature several new amenities in the west side. It will feature four levels, with offices, training rooms and locker rooms on the first floor. The second floor will include meeting rooms and an additional weight room. The third and fourth levels will provide club seating and 13 skyboxes. The skyboxes will offer tiered stadium-type seating with up to 22 seats per capacity.

In addition, each skybox will have a bar with locations for bar stools, tables and chairs to seat four-to-six people. Similar to professional sports stadium skyboxes, those in Governors Stadium will have sliding glass in the front of the viewing rooms, a push button to control a public address speaker and two television monitors.

The 8,000-square-foot Club Level will seat 386, and is designed to offer catered meals on football game days and will feature a private pouring room at Game Level.

The south end of the stadium will feature a large concourse area for corporate displays and product placement at select games. There will be space for future expansion for additional locker rooms.

The east side of the stadium’s original structure will remain but undergo several renovations to improve aesthetics and functionality of the facility, including restroom renovations and resurfacing of the façade.

The original Governors Stadium was built as a multi-purpose facility that was constructed by the City of Clarksville in 1946, originally named Municipal Stadium for its purpose of providing an athletic facility for Clarksville and Montgomery County Schools, which also included usage by the University through an annual agreement.

In 1970, the city conveyed one-third of the title to the State and the other third of the stadium to Montgomery County and passed legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly to establish a Municipal Stadium Authority and empowering it to operate the stadium.

In 1993, when the Montgomery County Schools system was unwilling to help in the purchase of a new stadium turf, the University agreed to purchase Municipal Stadium from the Stadium Authority and Montgomery County. With the purchase the stadium name changed to Governors Stadium.

Since the purchase, the University has implemented several improvements to the facility, including replacement of the turf along with complete renovation of the track and field to their current surfaces. The latest improvements came in 2007 when a new video scoreboard was installed on the stadium’s south end.

For game ticket information, please contact the APSU Athletics Ticket Office by phone at 931.221.PEAY (7329), by email at tickets@letsgopeay.com or you can purchase tickets online at www.letsgopeay.com. Military and their dependents receive free general admission with a valid military I.D.

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