It is full-steam ahead on improvements to Ross-Ade Stadium.

That was the message from Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski after he met with the Board of Trustees this morning.

“All good news,” he told GoldandBlack.com.

Bobinski met with the BOT on two matters and got approval on both:

1. Approval of the south end zone video project.

2. Planning of the Ross-Ade renovation project.

Bobinski said the south end zone video board work will begin in December at the end of the 2019 season and be complete by May of 2020.

“It will be a bigger board with higher resolution.,” he said. “It will be a state-of-the-art board we think will add a lot to the experience and be light years more reliable and have more capabilities. And it will all be paid for by gift funds.”

The athletic department already has those funds in hand. The cost: $10 million.

“There will be a competitive bid that will happen in the next couple months,” said Bobinski.

The plans to continue renovation work on Ross-Ade will cost just over $4 million. And the athletic department already has that money, too.

“We are going beyond the concept work that we have been doing the last six to nine months and taking it to a much higher level of detail just short of construction documents,” said Bobinski. “We don’t yet have an approved project because we need to know what the exact scope will be, what the exact costs might look like. Until we have all that, we won’t go to the Board for a specific project approval. But this is just for more detailed planning of the ultimate renovation that we hope to accomplish.”

The big elements of the proposed Ross-Ade renovation:

1. South end zone structure. Purdue wants to construct some type of structure in the south end zone to house a number of different elements, from game-day team facilities, to new fan opportunities, to seating, to club opportunities and to other types of patios that the athletic department thinks will be important. Bobinski also wants to connect the concourse all the way around Ross-Ade so fans could make an uninterrupted loop around the stadium

2. Upper bowl. Everything above the vomitories is on steel decking. And that has maintenance issues, according to Bobinski. Purdue would like to consider the idea of constructing a cantilevered mezzanine second deck, which would then open up the concourse and allow for an open view from the concourse to the playing field which is how most modern facilities are being developed. The deck could go around the entire stadium—at least that’s the hope.

3. Updating the Ross-Ade Pavilion. Bobinski said the Shively and the Buchanan Clubs need updating and modernizing to attain a modern standard.

Now, Bobinski and company need to raise the money for the Ross-Ade renovation.

"As we think of the ultimate renovation project, that is the next big, heavy lift for us to get focused on, raising the significant dollars its will take to renovate Ross-Ade,” said Bobinski. “To plan a project of this scope takes time, it takes energy, no question.”

The next time Bobinski likely will meet with the BOT?

“it depends on the planning and what the timeline of that is (of the Ross-Ade renovation project),” he said. “The working timeline is this planning exercise and work will conclude somewhere around May of next year. And that will hopefully point us in the direction. So, the earliest could be the June board meeting of next year, but that may be a little aggressive. That would be the absolute earliest I would see.”

One last note: There will be a name on the Football Performance Center, opened in 2017. It is recognition of a gift received. Bobinski wouldn’t say who made the donation.

“It’s quasi-anonymous,” he said. “A long-time fan and supporter of our football program who has family connections to Purdue. It will be of great help. We are extremely grateful.”

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