March 18, 2024

Notre Dame unveils new building plan

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Notre Dame unveiled a plan Thursday to add buildings and more than 3,000 revenue-producing premium seats in and around Notre Dame Stadium in a push to make that area of campus more of a community hub.

The stadium that opened in 1930 and was expanded in 1997 is used fewer than 10 times a year for football games, commencement and recreational events. The idea is to use the stadium as a centerpiece where academics, athletics, students’ social lives and the surrounding community come together.

“We’ll take our most iconic athletic venue and reimagine it as the site of year-round university use, not five-day-a-year athletic use,” athletic director Jack Swarbrick said.

The first step is to see if space in and around “The House that Rockne Built” can be better utilized. The proposal would add more than 3,000 seats in new buildings that would rise up over the sides of the stadium and include classrooms, a media center, student center and community center.