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Take a look at the Doak Campbell Stadium renovations<\/p>\n
The renovations to Doak Campbell Stadium are set to be complete before the Florida State game against Alabama.<\/p>\n
Doak Campbell Stadium’s $265 million renovation is nearing completion for FSU’s season opener.The upgrades include new seating, climate-controlled club spaces, and a spacious concourse.Seating capacity has been reduced to around 70,000 due to wider seats and premium options.Despite increased ticket prices and controversy over public funding, FSU officials say the renovations were necessary.<\/p>\n
Iconic and refreshed at age 75, Doak Campbell Stadium<\/a> will be ready to take its first step into a new era<\/a> next month.<\/p>\n Promising to maintain the historic venue as one of the best in college football, Florida State<\/a> officials said the massive $265 million \u201cTransformation of Doak Campbell Stadium\u201d that was approved in the fall of 2023 is set to be completed for the Seminoles\u2019 season opener against Alabama on Aug. 30.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s amazing, classy,\u201d said FSU Vice President and Athletic Director Michael Alford.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe are doing things in a collegiate facility that haven\u2019t been done. The comfort and versatility of the building is just going to be something that\u2019s really going to stand out.\u201d<\/p>\n The project has not been without controversy, however.<\/p>\n Some fans say they were priced out by ticket cost increases<\/a> and a one-time capital gift contribution for seats<\/a> in selected areas for home games. And the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency four years ago sparked a backlash<\/a> before and after city and county commissioners voted to allocate $20 million to FSU for infrastructure repairs to the venue.<\/p>\n Even so, FSU leadership stressed it was necessary to pair the storied tradition of Doak with modern-day amenities that will enhance the fan experience.<\/p>\n And, just as importantly, it provides FSU football with an improved resource \u2013 annually renowned as one of the toughest places for opponents to play \u2013 to help it again compete for titles after last season’s 2-10 disappointment.<\/a><\/p>\n Fans will be greeted by multiple changes to Doak Campbell Stadium<\/p>\n In a little more than a month, fans will notice multiple, eye-opening changes for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC against the Crimson Tide.<\/a><\/p>\n Most are on the stadium’s west side that was demolished prior to the 2024 season and literally rebuilt from scratch.<\/p>\n The list includes new seating experiences that feature climate-controlled club spaces, new amenities and technology. new spacious concourse and bathrooms; new replay and ribbon boards; and infrastructure improvements.<\/p>\n Combined, the upgrades expect to rival any college stadium nationally.<\/p>\n Constructions crews are still currently working around-the-clock to ensure the completion as the college football season nears.<\/p>\n For example, around 1,000 mesh seatbacks are being installed nightly in the west stands.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be a really cool venue that will put FSU at the top of the list and one fans can be really proud of,\u201d said Robert Hogan, senior project manager for national firm Manhattan Construction.<\/p>\n Doak Campbell Stadium’s seating capacity reduced by renovations<\/p>\n Once an 82,300 bleacher-seat stadium at its peak, the Seminoles will play in front of a sold-out Doak crowd of around or below 70,000 for the first time since 1991 against the Crimson Tide.<\/p>\n Wider seats, additional leg room and new premium seating options, including renovations to the Dunlap Champions Club in the south end zone, reduced capacity as planned.<\/p>\n Yet the stadium\u2019s new identity continues to accelerate the program forward.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s Doak \u2013 it still feels like home,\u201d said Ben Zierden, FSU\u2019s senior associates athletic director for facilities and capital projects.<\/p>\n Zierden has coordinated the challenging projects that created a modern design aligned with the existing structure to create refreshed looks and new experiences and options for fans.<\/p>\n Expanded concourses on the west side, for example, will reduce crowding and improve access to concessions, large restrooms, and social areas.<\/p>\n FSU has sold more than 29,000 season tickets for the 2025 season. That exceeds last season’s total following the Seminoles’ 13-1 campaign that saw reduced seating in the stadium to 55,000 due to ongoing renovations.<\/p>\n The favorable trending this season includes season-ticket holders willing to pay a premium price for improvements expected to provide unique fan experiences. The changes also expect to benefit season ticket holders \u2013 and single-game ticket purchasers \u2013 across all price points.<\/p>\n “We’ve been very purposeful about all the changes and upgrades over the last two years with this project, as well as other projects in Doak,” Zierden said.<\/p>\n Zierden said that safety and comfort have been a top priority in the stadium.<\/p>\n He pointed out FSU has addressed all code deficiencies with wider aisles, handrails, wider seats, improved lighting, additional ADA (American Disabilities Act) seating and numerous other deferred maintenance items that come with an aging, iconic stadium.<\/p>\n The stadium was built in 1950 at the cost of $250,000. A certificate of occupancy is scheduled to be granted by July 29.<\/p>\n In August, crews will focus on final punch-list items and furniture installation, specifically checking that completed construction meets contract standards. FSU will also hold soft-opening events in the month, and plans to open Doak’s gates to fans an hour earlier against Alabama.<\/p>\n Combined with the new $145 million Dunlap Football Center that nears completion beyond the north end zone \u2013 the move-in date for the team has been delayed from September to October<\/a>, Alford said \u2013 the Seminoles are prepared for the future.<\/p>\n It’s also a sign of the times as dozens of college football stadiums across the nation are undergoing renovations and improvement projects to meet the expectations of fans and attract players.<\/p>\n “Looking at the sustainability of Doak, we had to make changes to keep the program going where we expect it to be,” Alford said. “The investments we’ve made in the longevity and sustainability in this program is there.”<\/p>\n Here is Florida State<\/a>‘s 2025 football schedule WATCH: FSU QB Thomas Castellanos speaks about joining the Seminoles<\/p>\n FSU football’s new quarterback Thomas Castellanos spoke out about joining the Seminoles and playing in Gus Malzahn’s offense. Here’s what he said.<\/p>\n Games with an asterisk are ACC games.<\/p>\n August 30: vs. Alabama, 3:30 p.m. (shop tickets<\/a>) (ABC)September 5: vs. East Texas A&M, noon (shop tickets<\/a>) (ACCNetwork)September 13: ByeSeptember 20: vs. Kent State (shop tickets<\/a>)September 26: at Virginia*, 7 p.m. (Friday, ESPN)October 4: vs. Miami*, (shop tickets<\/a>)October 11: vs. Pittsburgh*, (shop tickets<\/a>)October 18: at Stanford*, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)October 25: ByeNovember 1: vs. Wake Forest*, (shop tickets<\/a>)November 8: at Clemson*November 15: vs. Virginia Tech*, (shop tickets<\/a>)\\November 21: at NC State*, 8 p.m. (Friday)November 29: at Florida (shop tickets<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Take a look at the Doak Campbell Stadium renovations The renovations to Doak Campbell Stadium are set to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[821,3689,52,247,265,822,318,339,1554,1556,3690,441,816,380,4713,5542,389,7,3688,243,828,820,830,88,6,245,537,530,5541,815,9,266,376,678,3691,776,1555,381],"class_list":{"0":"post-228216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-affiliate","9":"tag-ai","10":"tag-alabama","11":"tag-american","12":"tag-american-football","13":"tag-arts","14":"tag-college","15":"tag-college-sports","16":"tag-colleges","17":"tag-colleges-u0026-universities","18":"tag-enabled","19":"tag-entertainment","20":"tag-events","21":"tag-florida","22":"tag-florida-state-seminoles","23":"tag-florida-state-seminoles-football","24":"tag-florida-state-university","25":"tag-football","26":"tag-highlights","27":"tag-live","28":"tag-live-sporting-events","29":"tag-local","30":"tag-local-affiliate-arts-u0026-entertainment","31":"tag-news","32":"tag-nfl","33":"tag-overall","34":"tag-overall-positive","35":"tag-positive","36":"tag-seminoles","37":"tag-sporting","38":"tag-sports","39":"tag-sports-news","40":"tag-state","41":"tag-story","42":"tag-story-highlights-ai-enabled","43":"tag-u0026","44":"tag-universities","45":"tag-university"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/78002013007-20250128-135737.jpg\"\/)
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