Fresno State Athletics
Jim Bartko Issues Letter to Update the Red Wave
7/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Hello Red Wave!
I am approaching seven months on the job now and the time has flown by. I've settled in, my family has since joined me in town after the school-year ended for our kids and now I'm really looking forward to the upcoming sports season.
This is an exciting time for Bulldog Athletics. Our tennis court project is underway, the soccer and lacrosse locker rooms will be done in time for when our student-athletes return in August and also next month the new Physical Therapy and Sports Administration building will open. This state-of-the-art building will help accommodated the growth of both the University and Athletics. The first floor will be dedicated to the College of Health and Human Services and Athletics will have the second floor, opening up new offices for our basketball, volleyball and softball programs. They will also have new team meeting spaces, film rooms and a computer lab in the building that will be a big boost for their programs. We are extremely grateful for this tremendous gift of the first-class office space we are receiving from the University.
On June 26 we had a press conference to announce the Bulldog Stadium renovation design concept that we have been working on over the last four months with architects. That outlined our vision for the stadium's future, although it is only in the conceptual stage right now. So far the feedback we've received from that has been overwhelming positive and we are fired up to get the wheels in motion.
That being said, we are going to have to take it one step at a time. Our next steps will be conducting a market study, evaluating designs and working with the University through the necessary procedures involved in a project of this magnitude. In the next six months we'll be evaluating seating in the stadium, pricing out our suites, club seats and loge boxes and then launch a fundraising campaign. This is just the early stages of the project, but it is crucial for us to explore all of our options to make the renovation the best it can be for every member of our fan base from the single-game ticket buyer to the 15-year season ticket holder to someone in a suite.
Even though the major construction will take place most likely two years down the road, fans will see immediate improvements at Bulldog Stadium this fall. We are putting in a new HD video and ribbon board in the north end zone and we have made policy changes to our tailgating. Tailgating will still open four hours before the game and end two hours after the game, but fans parked in our lots west of Cedar Ave. this fall will also be able to tailgate throughout the game if they so choose. We will also be opening up the Bud Light Beer Garden below the seating bowl but inside the ticketed gates where fans can go to and enjoy a beer if they desire.
For those of you asking how you can help, the best immediate assistance you can provide is to purchase season tickets and help keep our home-field advantage where we are 17-2 in Bulldog Stadium over the last three seasons. We have also led the Mountain West in attendance over the past two years and I want to make that a benchmark here at Fresno State.
Thank you for all of your support in my first seven months, we are all focused to make the Valley proud.
Best,
Jim Bartko
Fresno State Director of Athletics
@JimBartko1
