Let’s get ready to celebrate the opening of ‘our’ stadium

By: Douglas Heizer

Among the big news items in Boca Raton this past year has been the construction and imminent opening of the first on-campus football stadium at Florida Atlantic University.

There’s been a lot of reveling on

the Boca turf about this historic event that will bring college football into the city — into perhaps the largest university-level stadium located between Miami and Orlando.

During a recent stadium tour, the Boca Raton Tribune staff learned a lot about the sports venue – and how the 30,000 seat stadium could be turned into a 60,000-seat location by simply enclosing the ends of the stands.

We were very impressed with the facility. But during the trip, I thought of something that was even more impressive. This isn’t just a stadium for FAU. It is a stadium for everyone in Boca Raton.

In other words, this is “our” stadium. It’s not just a place for a university to play football. We were told that only five home football games will take place there this season. That gives the university the OK to hold 10 more outdoor events.

So, it’s likely the FAU stadium will become a location for performances and concerts.

Inside the facility are rooms that will accommodate weddings, wedding receptions, bar and bat mitzvahs and all types of gatherings, from class reunions to graduation parties.

Special kitchens will prepare meals for revelers who join together at the stadium when the FAU Fighting Owls are not on the gridiron.

Of course, there will be plenty of opportunities to chow down while the Owls are grinding up and down the 100-yard playing area. There are plenty of concession stands as well as food service in the special boxes up above the action. There’s even a restaurant-type area in the press box.

Let’s not forget that a lot of people – including individuals and local agencies – have already stepped up as the stadium’s opening day gets closer.

The Schmidt Family Foundation donated $2 million for construction of the $70 million facility. Subway also has a deal – and that sub sandwich firm already has a sign on the Jumbotron.

Speaking of naming rights, Delray Acura and Delray Hyundai recently signed on as corporate sponsors of the new FAU stadium. The nine-year, $800,000 contract gives the family owned and operated dealerships naming rights to the stadium’s Premier Club and Priority Club seating areas, which are to be known as the Delray Acura Club Suites and the Delray Hyundai Club.

The stadium itself has no specific name yet. But there are several people who might qualify. There would certainly be a lot of local pride in naming the arena Howard Schnellenberger Stadium in honor of the legendary football coach who came to FAU more than a decade ago, and kicked off the university’s first football team in 1999.

No doubt there has been thought to naming the stadium after Henrietta, Countess de Hoernle, who has donated to so many organizations, including FAU.

You could even name it after Frank Brogan, who was FAU president at the time the stadium idea was first coming to fruition. He is now chancellor of the entire state university system, so the honor would not go unnoticed.

Who knows, maybe it could even be named the Boca Raton Tribune Stadium.

Whatever it is called, the real name of the stadium – as I said before – is “ours.” It will have an impact on everyone in Boca. The city has been closely involved in its creation. The state and county, too, with plans on the table to build a new I-95 entrance/exit to filter traffic from Glades Road to the rear of the campus on Spanish River Road.

An open house will be held at the stadium Oct. 14, a day before the Owls take on Western Kentucky in the first-ever, Boca-based football game. Don’t forget to visit “our” stadium