Bud Thomas has fond memories of his time spent living in the former Tiger Stadium dorms. “I thought it was a convenient place to live when I lived there,” said the 76-year-old University alumnus concerning the dorms located near Huey P. Long Fieldhouse, which was the Student Union at the time. During the term of former governor Huey P. Long Tiger Stadium dorms were built and housed about 1,100 students. But the space has been vacant since the 1980s despite increased enrollment, increased dorm construction and the new first-year residency requirement. The five-story dorms, marked by rusted windows, were arranged in a rectangular shape with a roof ideal for stadium seating. Many students, including biological sciences freshman Erika Boyd, would jump at the opportunity to live in the famed Tiger Stadium. “It would be pretty nice to live in Tiger Stadium, you’d be right in the midst of everything,” Boyd said. Steve Waller, Residential Life director, said the cost of repairing the former dorms to current building codes would likely equal the cost of building two new facilities. “They have been left in total disrepair,” Waller said, noting the former dorms have been out of service for nearly 20 years and probably house asbestos. Sam Territo, Residential Life associate director, echoed the concerns of Waller. He said the former dormitories lacked adequate sprinklers and proper ventilation. Peter Hubbs, biology sophomore, said he would not be eager to live in the Stadium. “If you had anything breakable in there, it would break with 92,000 people jumping on your roof,” he said. Some of the old dorms are sealed and in the same condition as when they closed, said Eddie Nunez, associate athletics director. He said he has been in the sealed areas a couple of times but admitted it was not a place he would like to live or work. “From the outside they don’t look very livable,” said Brandon Jones, microbiology freshman. Nunez said studies for using the space for everything from tailgating suites to classrooms have been presented to the University. The studies have failed solve the problem of making the space accessible during games. Spatial issues have formed complications, and the cement structure of the building makes it difficult to build lobbies and elevators. Nunez said there are no present plans for the building.
—-Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]