University says proposed stadium plans not final

By Daniel C. Houston
Staff Writer

Two previously unreleased renderings of a proposed football stadium reveal what the stadium might look like in the context of the surrounding campus, but one building is missing from the renderings: the Hughes-Dillard Alumni Center.

The new renderings, which were not released publicly by the university but were presented to the board of regents at their Nov. 4 meeting, depict an empty field of grass where the Baylor Alumni Association sits.

All other university-related buildings in the range of the renderings are depicted in their proper locations.

Director of media relations and university spokesperson Lori Fogleman did not confirm whether the alumni building was merely overlooked when Populous, the architectural firm responsible for the proposed stadium design, drew up the renderings. Fogleman said any questions about the future of the alumni building based off of the renderings were merely conjecture.

“I have no idea about [the alumni center] because this is an artist’s drawing about what [the stadium] could look like,” Fogleman said. “Really, we’re not in a position to explain or defend anything that’s in the drawing.”

The renderings surfaced Nov. 7 on BaylorFans.com, an online forum for followers of Baylor athletics, when one of the forum’s members scanned physical copies of the drawings and uploaded them to the website.

The authenticity of the renderings was later verified by Nicholas Joos, executive associate athletics director for external affairs.

Joos said the plans will undergo significant alterations before the stadium is constructed but did not say how the alumni building would fit into those plans.

Jeff Kilgore, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Baylor Alumni Association, reviewed the renderings and said he had not engaged in any conversations with university representatives about the future of the building.

“I would suspect,” Kilgore said, “if there was ever a discussion with the alumni association about how the association might be able to support the stadium project, whether it be financially or facilities, they would engage the members of the association and its leadership the same way it did the Bear Foundation and the season ticket holders. We’re excited about the prospect of a new stadium.”

Gina Stingley, marketing manager for Populous, declined to comment on why the alumni association building was not included in her company’s renderings of the stadium and campus, saying Baylor officials would be better positioned to answer those questions.

Fogleman said the renderings reflect the stadium project in its initial stages and the details are subject to change.

“Right now, that is an artist’s concept,” Fogleman said. “Those aren’t plans. We’ve made no decisions, because right now we’re gathering data. That’s the place we are right now.”