Nevada looking to upgrade Mackay Stadium

Nevada is looking to bring in some more cash to their program and the plan to do so is by rennovating Mackay Stadium. The changes to the football stadium will actually decrease the size of the 29,993 stadium capacitity, but money would be made to making the stadium more modern amenities.

Athletic director Doug Knuth says the upgrades would be between $6 million and $8 million, and is of the highest priority:

"It has to be done," Knuth said. "It absolutely has to be done. I've challenged the staff and everybody at the university to get this accomplished. Everybody is on board. This is a great project and we've challenged everybody to really push hard and push forward to get this thing done by the 2014 season."

The additions are for more new suites, a club seating level and chair backs in at least five sections of the stadium. Currently, there are two very extreme seating options: Skyboxes or bleacher seats, that is all.

The money for this project is going to be raised through private donations and other fundraising methods, and once construction begins it would take six to seven months to complete the upgrades.

However before this project can begin there needs to be approval by university president Marc Johnson, and there also needs to be a plan in place to raise money. Knuth believes the project can be finished in time for the 2014 season, and by having a lot of people who want this to happen it seems likely that the upgrades will get done.

The last major renovations at Mackay Stadium occurred back in 1996 when 48 skyboxes were added. With a smaller stadium size of just under 30,000 Nevada needs to try to maximize revenue for their home football games, and these additions will do that and also provide a better fan experience.