re: Kyle Field and other Facility Upgrades

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Chancellor John Sharp:
Coach Sumlin called Sharp and told him he wanted to practice on the field on Aug 22nd...dates were shifted to accommodate his request/demand.

Best field drain system..takes 10-12"/hr..over $1M for the drainage

One more Kyle Field media event remains

Phillip Ray
Slightly ahead of schedule and on budget; 1200 men and women work 7 days a week.

Got nervous in May about meeting deadlines, but have and will accommodate all deadlines.

New partner in Kyle Field's networking capabilities is Verizon who agreed to a 5yr/$4.3 payment into Kyle Field.. We are the network standard for the country.

AT&T is already signed on, will be able to access KF WiFi; working with Sprint and TMobile for them to join in.

Craig Kaufman (Populus)
Renderings are turning into photos..feels great as the architect

The grass is top of line for NFL and Collegiate facilities. Drainage designed for 100+ year flood, best in the business.. Field will be cleared before streets drain.

It's our stadium and we'll love it

Greg McClure (Manhattan Vaughn)
Carpets are being laid in level 200 Suites are being finished out (carpet/final lighting) before cleaning crews finish them

200-500 level Suites..last Suites to be finished, will be finished by September 5th to allow Levy's and A&M to bring in their things. Currently installing appliances, electrical, and tile.

Finishing the exterior plaza of the West Side early this year, no mad-dash rush like last year. They're finishing from the North to South and South to North..meeting in the middle.

1200 people worked about 3.5 million man-hours by the time it's all said and done.

Todd Christian (IBM)
2 Separate systems for the fans.. 1) WiFi - Will be on during the games 2) Cellular Network - Continually upgraded

TAMU the talk of the town across the country about how to improve gameday networks

Gameday Technology - An app allows users in suites to change the TV channels and allows users to view replays on their phones. It is untested, so there's likely going to be some bugs over the first 3 games over WiFi.

Look to have Spring and TMobile on soon; will join on when they're ready.

Tim Lomax (TAMU Transportation Institute)
Download the Destination Aggieland App...if you want to park on Campus, they can park you. DA app has realtime traffic updates. Kibrough and Olsen Blvd will be a nightmare.

4 Shuttle Bus routes off campus from Downtown Bryan and American Momentum Bank Plaza.

Leaving the game..Exiting will take time, but it should go smooth. Will have cameras to monitor and change traffic patterns in real-time. Command center will be in East Kyle Field.

Marty Price (Levy's Restaurants)
Introduced PJ Saidler and Chef Picau
PJ:
Hiring 1300 people to facilitate the staffing of Kyle Field.

Chef:
Showed food for the club seats..."Texas proud" food. All smoked food will be cooked in house.

Q&A Session:
Phillip Ray:
Opened by stating it was still a construction project last year. It will be complete this year. New lighting and new sound system. Distributed sound throughout the entire stadium. Will be able to traverse the entire stadium after entering.

Q: What's left?
A: Hall of Champions finishing, lounge finishing, seating instillation, parking lots, plazas, great staircase.. A lot of finish work, but it is being completed quickly. All restrooms and concessions are installed. Flagpoles starting to go up.

Q: Expected completion date:
A: September 5th..most if not all things will be finished, but the stadium will be turned over on that date without the mad dash at the end of the project. Cleared out demolish of Old Kyle early really helped streamline the process.

Q: Capacity?
A: 102,512+

Q: Can we see the finish line?
A: Sometimes..Chancellor Sharp and Coach Sumlin push the crews well. Confident the project will be finished on time and with great quality after meeting with the crews weekly and seeing them daily. Great list of sub contractors to help finish the project.

Extra comment:
Working with President Young and Chancellor Sharp are working on a "stadium celebration"..more details will be released later, but did say that Chancellor Sharp likes things that are loud, bring, and light up the sky.

Chancellor Sharp:
They've (Manhattan Vaughn) completed a 3 year project in two with a large gap in between..it's a testament to how great the workers are.

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