Apogee Stadium

Apogee Stadium is a college football stadium in Denton, Texas, at the junction of Interstate 35 East and West. Opened in 2011, it is home to the University of North Texas (UNT) Mean Green football team, which competes in Conference USA. The facility replaced Fouts Field, where the school's football program had been based since 1952.

The stadium was proposed by the University of North Texas System Board of Regents after the 2002 New Orleans Bowl and designed by HKS, Inc. It was constructed at a cost of $78 million after a contentious student body election in 2008. It was originally named "Mean Green Stadium", but was renamed when ResNet provider Apogee purchased the naming rights in 2011. The stadium hosted its first major event on September 10, 2011 when the Mean Green lost 48–23 against the University of Houston Cougars. Official home attendance figures for the team's first two seasons at Apogee Stadium averaged around 18,900 per game, which is a little over 60% of its capacity of 30,850.

The facility houses various amenities, including a press box, luxury boxes, and an alumni pavilion. It also uses environmental technology; it is the first newly built stadium to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. It can be reached by road, but because of traffic congestion on game days, many visitors park on the other side of Interstate 35 and cross a pedestrian bridge to reach the stadium.

Early planning and finance
For the Spring 2002 student election, UNT Student Government Association (SGA) senators held a referendum on whether to allow the University of North Texas System Board of Regents to increase the student athletics fee by $4.50 per credit hour, $1 of which would be dedicated to "facility improvements". The referendum was rejected by UNT's voting students, with 1,023 voting for the proposal and 1,265 voting against it. After the vote, however, school administrators lobbied senators to increase the fee as a way to help the university's athletics program achieve Title IX compliance. The student senators then approved a student fee of $3 per credit hour, which the Board of Regents implemented immediately. Consequently, students mounted a recall election campaign, supported by documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, which resulted in the removal of 14 student senators from office.

In September 2002, the university purchased land on the opposite side of Interstate 35 from the main campus in Denton, Texas from Liberty Christian School for $5.1 million. Following the football team's victory at the 2002 New Orleans Bowl, school administrators announced their intent to build an assortment of new athletic facilities on the property, including a new football stadium. The new stadium would replace Fouts Field, where the school's football team had been based since 1952. Richard Raefs, then vice chancellor of administrative affairs at UNT, claimed that renovating Fouts Field would cost $8 million more than building an entirely new stadium and that the project's primary objective was the consolidation of academic facilities.

The Board of Regents released a long-term campus master plan in 2005 that included a proposed new stadium with a capacity of 35,000 and an estimated cost "in excess of $35 million". UNT athletic director Rick Villareal stated that the university would use only private fundraising, rather than another increase in students' fees, to pay for any new facilities, including a stadium. He said, "we have a mandate here. We haven't built anything or will build anything without raising the money ourselves", and that the new stadium would cost $40 million and seat 50,000 spectators. The athletic department changed that capacity estimate in 2007 to 32,000 with the possibility of later expansion to 50,000.

Athletics fee referendum
In 2008, the athletic department tried again to increase the athletics fee to pay for the new stadium, which now had an estimated cost of $60 million. SGA student senators voted to hold a student election on the referendum to approve the new fee, which amounted to a net increase of $7 per credit hour for each student, or approximately $840 per student over the course of four years. The athletic department made a concerted effort to promote the higher fee to students, and supporters suggested hiring street preachers or troubadours to promote the election. A month before the election, athletic director Rick Villareal said that the stadium was "not some arms race for us" and that the fee's objective was not just to keep up with other universities.

The referendum was held in October 2008, with the text:"In order for the University of North Texas to have a better Athletic program, which in turn can lead to national exposure and increased recognition of UNT; I agree to a dedicated Athletic Fee not to exceed $10 per semester credit hour, capped at 15 hours. Once the Athletic Fee is implemented, the Student Service Fee will be reduced by $3 per semester credit hour. The Athletic Fee shall not be implemented until the semester the new football stadium is complete, which is expected to be fall 2011."

On October 21, 2008, the UNT SGA announced that in one of the largest turnouts in the school's history, student voters approved a dedicated athletic fee to fund the new stadium. Almost 14 percent of the student body voted, with 2,829 students (58.1%) voting for the increase and 2,038 (41.9%) voting against it. After the election, the cost estimate for the stadium's construction increased by $18 million to $78 million, $38 million more than the 2005 estimate. At a press conference with then head football coach Todd Dodge, Villarreal said, "there's an arms race going on going on with facilities. This one will put us up there with everybody else." In February 2009, the school's chapter of Students for a Democratic Society unsuccessfully attempted to petition for a re-vote on the referendum.

Construction and naming rights
In February 2008, the school selected HKS, Inc. to provide architectural and design services for the proposed new stadium. The university hired Manhattan Construction Company in 2009 to provide pre-construction and construction services. Prior to the groundbreaking ceremony on November 21, 2009, then President of UNT Gretchen Bataille said that of the approximately $78 million needed to pay for the new stadium, the department had raised $5 million. After leveling the area, Manhattan installed a steel-reinforced concrete skeleton for the stands. Subsequently, the firm flattened the playing field area and installed artificial turf. In later phases, glass and brick were added to the facility's luxury suites. Construction officially finished on July 20, 2011.

On August 11, 2011, UNT announced a deal with Austin-based ResNet provider Apogee for the naming rights to the new stadium, and the name was changed to "Apogee Stadium". According to the contract, Apogee will pay $11.8 million of the $20 million deal in cash over 20 years, including graduated annual payments beginning at $312,000 and ending in three payments of $1 million. The remaining $8.29 million will be in the form of in-kind services. As part of the contract, Apogee also received one luxury suite in the new stadium and premium tickets to other UNT events.

Opening
The stadium hosted its first game on September 10, 2011, when the Mean Green football team lost 48–23 against the University of Houston Cougars. Despite the concerted efforts of the university and the athletic department, the first home game at the new stadium did not sell out, and the game attracted 28,075 spectators, 2,775 fewer than full capacity. Although attendees' reception to the opening game was generally positive, attendance dropped to 21,181 for the second home game against the Indiana University Hoosiers. By the third home game against the Florida Atlantic University Owls, attendance had dropped to a season-low of 13,142 mainly due to thunderstorms in the area during the afternoon and the Texas Rangers playing Game 1 of the 2011 American League Championship Series that evening. To promote the final home game of the season against the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders, the university offered free tickets to some athletic booster club members, and head football coach Dan McCarney promoted the game with an op-ed in the school's student newspaper, the North Texas Daily. The official attendance for the final game was 15,962, bringing the total home attendance for the year to 113,186, a new record for the Mean Green. For the 2011 season, the stadium averaged 18,864 spectators per home game, which is 61.15% of the facility's capacity of 30,850. The team ended the season ranked 98th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams in average home attendance. It finished with five wins and seven losses, its best record since the 2004 season.

For the five home games of the 2012 season, average game attendance saw a slight increase to 18,927, giving the Mean Green the 103rd highest attendance out of 124 FBS teams. The venue hosted its first nationally televised game on October 16, 2012 when the Mean Green defeated the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns 30–23 on ESPN2. The broadcast had an estimated 366,000 viewers, earning a Nielsen rating of 0.3. The venue also hosted a Bands of America regional marching band competition on September 28, 2012.

Structure and facilities
Apogee Stadium occupies 426300 sqft on 46 acre of land. Stands on the north, east, and west sides of the stadium seat 30,850 and form a horseshoe shape around a standard American football field. The field's surface is PowerBlade HP +, a type of artificial turf comprising synthetic fibers with a rubber and sand infill. Unlike Fouts Field, Apogee Stadium does not have an all-weather running track, and spectators are set approximately 10 m closer to the field. A separate 2500 sqft pavilion for alumni is located just north of the stadium. Parts of the stadium's exterior are covered with 48320 sqft of recyclable silver aluminum composite panels, with an additional 1334 sqft of green panels for accent.

The home side stands are located on the west side of the stadium. They include 21 luxury suites, which the athletic department sells for $20,000 per year plus a "six- or seven-figure gift to the Stadium Fund", and 754 club seats, which can be purchased with a one-time gift of $3,125 to $12,500, in addition to an annual $500 donation to the athletic department and the cost of season tickets. The side also includes a press box, named the Bill Mercer Press Club in honor of the school's longtime play-by-play announcer. A Mean Green Gear Store is located underneath the stands at Gate 2 on the west side of the stadium.

The stands on the east side of the field are generally reserved for student seating; behind them is a path-defined tailgating area called "The Hill". The seating behind the north end zone forms a distinctive "V" shape intended to resemble an eagle's wings in flight. The tips of the "wings" reach 106 ft above the field. There is no seating behind the south end zone, but the area includes a 47 x scoreboard and a 5 ft bronze bust of an eagle. The bust is named "Spiriki", and was donated by members of the Geezles, the school's first social fraternity. On game days, the area also includes a scale replica cannon named "Boomer", which is fired each time the team scores.

Environmental design
In 2008, then president of UNT Gretchen Bataille signed the American College and University President's Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. As part of that process, all new university buildings and facilities are required to achieve a minimum of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. While planning the stadium's construction, the university consulted HKS, Inc. to design it to meet a number of green building standards and hired FocusEGD, an environmental graphic design firm, to design many of the stadium's graphic elements. As a result, Apogee Stadium uses various forms of environmental technology. To reduce water consumption and urban runoff, the facility includes a 85000 sqft water retention system, 338000 sqft of permeable paving, and low-flow plumbing systems. To minimize the human impact on the environment, developers took advantage of the landscape around the stadium whenever possible. The facility also includes three Northwind 100 wind turbines, which were completed in February 2012. To fund the turbine project, the Texas State Energy Conservation Office allocated $2 million in stimulus funds to the university. The 120 ft turbines each have three 30 ft blades and are expected to produce a combined 450000 kWh of energy per year, which would account for roughly a third of the stadium's energy needs and offset 323 MT of carbon dioxide emissions.

The stadium's sustainable design features earned have praise and awards from media outlets and industry groups. In 2011, Apogee Stadium became the first newly built stadium to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest level awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. The points-based ratings system measures various environmental aspects including water efficiency, energy conservation, indoor air quality, and sustainability. Dallas Business Journal named the stadium the "Green Project Deal of the Year" in 2012, and Engineering News-Record named it the year's "Best Green Project". The stadium was named as one of the four finalists during the World Stadium Awards Congress for "most sustainable stadium design concept", but lost to the London Olympic Stadium.

Transportation and location
Apogee Stadium is located on Bonnie Brae Street at the junction of Interstate 35 East and West in the southeast part of Denton, Texas. It is part of the Mean Green Village, a 175 acre parcel of land located south of UNT's main campus that includes various athletic department facilities. In February 2003, the school conducted studies to identify potential traffic problems in the area. The results of the studies indicated that the intersection of Bonnie Brae Street and Airport Road northwest of the facility represented a potential major traffic hazard, since the two-lane Bonnie Brae Street could not accommodate the additional game day traffic, and Airport Road would be needed for access to Denton Municipal Airport to the north. Initially, university officials planned to address some concerns by rerouting season ticket holders through the surrounding neighborhoods, but in 2009, residents expressed concerns that the stadium could clog traffic systems in the area. Consequently, the City of Denton passed an ordinance to shut down the area streets on game days to anyone without a resident's permit. The university began the process of transferring the right-of-way surrounding Bonnie Brae Street to the city in 2012 to allow for the road's expansion from two lanes to four.

To encourage the use of sustainable transportation, developers limited the quantity of parking spaces on site. The facility includes 1,758 parking spaces adjacent to the stadium, but to access it on the day of an event, most attendees park at Fouts Field on the opposite side of Interstate 35E and walk across a pedestrian bridge, which leads to the stadium. The university announced plans to build the bridge in August 2011 to address another area of the concern from the 2002 studies. Construction on the $2.5 million project, a joint venture between the university and the Texas Department of Transportation, began in February 2012. Although originally expected to open for the football team's first home game of the 2012 season, construction delays moved the opening date to October 16 for the third home game of the season. Attendees can also take the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) A-train to the Downtown Denton Transit Center and take a taxi to the stadium.