Various leaders of the LSU and Baton Rouge communities put on their hard hats on Wednesday, Oct. 17, to celebrate the groundbreaking of the South End Zone Expansion of LSU’s Tiger Stadium.
The project is being carried out by a joint venture partnership of The Lemoine Company and Brasfield & Gorrie, and is scheduled to be completed for the kickoff of the 2014 football season.
“It is truly an honor that we will have a hand in the next chapter of the spirit of LSU football, an expansion that is unrivaled and is sure to become a special part of Saturday night in Tiger Stadium,” said The Lemoine Company Business Unit Leader William Lemoine.
According to a statement released by The Lemoine Company and Brasfield & Gorrie, the expansion will add an upper deck to the south end zone and will include 68 skyboxes, seating for approximately 3,000 in the stadium club, 1,500 upper deck seats and a standing room-only section.
These additions will increase the maximum capacity in Tiger Stadium to nearly 100,000, making it the seventh-largest stadium in the nation and the third largest in the Southeastern Conference behind Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium and Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Lemoine Company is headquartered in Lafayette, La., and has been serving the Southeastern United States as a full-service contracting and construction management firm since 1975.
“As members of this special community of South Louisiana and lifelong supporters of LSU and LSU athletics, The Lemoine Company was innately drawn to the possibility of working with the TAF organization on the South End Zone Expansion project,” Lemoine said.
Brasfield & Gorrie, headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., is one of the largest privately held construction firms in the United States, with approximately 2,900 employees and 2011 revenues of $1.7 billion.
Stephen Franklin, Brasfield & Gorrie Division Manager, stated the company is proud to be working with The Lemoine Company, and it is “truly excited for the opportunity to expand such a historic college football venue at Tiger Stadium.”
Both companies are consistently ranked in Engineering News-Record’s “Top 400 Contractors,” with Brasfield & Gorrie currently ranked No. 32 and The Lemoine Company currently at No. 276.
The expansion was designed by project architect HKS Inc., whose previous projects have included the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
Notable figures in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony were Director of Athletics Joe Alleva, Mayor of East Baton Rouge Parish Kip Holden and interim President and Chancellor Dr. William Jenkins.
“It is truly an honor that we will have a hand in the next chapter of the spirit of LSU football…”
