4th time a charm? Fresno State cannot afford another stadium fix failure | Opinion
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Three past attempts to expand Fresno State's stadium failed due to donor apathy.
- AD Garrett Klassy ties stadium overhaul to vital revenue gains for Pac-12 entry.
- Feasibility study will determine whether to renovate or build a new facility.
“Come to my office,” Pat Hill told me after a Bulldogs football practice in the spring of 2004.
“I’ve got something to show you.”
I followed the Fresno State coach across the parking lot, through the double entry doors of the Duncan Building and down the hallway lined with framed photographs of former Bulldogs who played in the NFL. Inside Hill’s office, placed on a table, was a model of Bulldog Stadium with a second deck of seating atop the familiar bermed oval.
“I’m not talking 50,000 seats and a couple toilets,” Hill said in a subsequent interview. “I know where I stand. I’m off the charts. I’m talking about 70,000. We’re going to get it done.”
Needless to say, Fresno State did not get it done. The capacity of Valley Children’s Stadium (the official name since 2022) remains roughly 40,000. Aside from a few cosmetic fixes, the facility hasn’t been upgraded since 1992 when 11,000 seats, 22 suites and a press box were added to the original structure that opened in 1980.
Hill’s ambitious plan to expand the football stadium never materialized. Neither did a 2015 attempt spearheaded by then-Athletic Director Jim Bartko, who hired global architectural and engineering firm AECOM to produce eye-catching schematics. Neither did the “Elevate” campaign launched in 2022 under former AD Terry Tumey, part of an ambitious $250 million makeover of Bulldogs athletics facilities.
Do you sense a pattern?
Without getting bogged down in the details of days long past, all three efforts failed for essentially the same reason: a lack of interest from major donors. Fresno State administrators and fundraisers tried to sell a vision, but not enough deep-pocketed types were buying.
Sisyphean task for Bulldogs AD
The renovation (or possible replacement) of Valley Children’s Stadium is once again in the news following recent statements made by Garrett Klassy, the latest Fresno State AD to shoulder this Sisyphean task.
Except this time, Klassy isn’t getting over his skis by making grandiose promises he may not be able to keep. Nor is he unveiling fancy renderings that raise hopes and expectations among Bulldogs fans but ultimately leave them disappointed.
Klassy, to his credit, is also being forthright about why Fresno State must renovate its aging, dilapidated football stadium as soon as possible. The reason has nothing to do with meeting demand for tickets or attracting better opponents and little to do with “enhancing the fan experience” or some other marketing mumbo jumbo.
Nope. This is all about increasing revenues for Bulldogs athletics as Fresno State enters the Pac-12 in 2026. Valley Children’s Stadium is the last untapped revenue source controlled by the university. The only cash cow yet to be milked.
“Revenue-wise, we are not going to get where we want to go without a new football stadium,” Klassy said in an interview with The Bee. “That’s where the revenue comes from. The reality is we lead at our level in attendance every single year, but we’re near the bottom in revenue. That’s because we don’t have any premium revenue experiences.”
Sure, Fresno State has a few suites and premium “red seats” that long ago faded to pink under the broiling San Joaquin Valley sun. Just not nearly enough of them when compared to Boise State, San Diego State and the like.
“We need premium seating experiences so that we can maximize revenue here at Fresno State,” Klassy added.
Renovate or build new?
Besides the welcome forthrightness, another new wrinkle is a yet-to-be commissioned feasibility study to help determine whether it would be more cost effective and advantageous to renovate Valley Children’s Stadium or build a new stadium from the ground up.
Wisely, Klassy isn’t tipping his hand over which way he’s leaning or even where a new stadium could be located. (One possibility is the equestrian center directly north of Save Mart Center. That is, unless the Valley’s leading agricultural school wishes to sacrifice acres of prime farmland.) Rather, he’ll wait and see what the study says.
“I’m a data guy,” Klassy told KMJ-580. “I need to get the numbers back. I need to know what’s realistic. … I want what’s best for this place. Whether it’s a renovation or brand new, I want to build something that’s a crown jewel for this Valley.”
The other tangible difference between this attempt and those of the past is the level of desperation. Without a new or renovated stadium on the horizon, Fresno State’s days as a Pac-12 program (and even one that competes at the FBS level) will be short-lived.
It would probably be wise for Klassy to steer clear of such dire forecasts, especially when courting donors. But it’s the truth. Two decades of wheel-spinning have led us here.
