LARAMIE - University of Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman said Tuesday that the luxury suites and club seating project at War Memorial Stadium "will generate a minimum of $600,000 annually in new money - ongoing."

The initial contract in the $26.4 million east stadium prestige seating and grandstand renovation project will be up for approval by the UW Board of Trustees during its meetings Thursday and Friday in Laramie. The board's agenda sets a public comment opportunity at 3:15 p.m. Friday at the beginning of its business meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn's Garden Ballroom, but a UW representative said that 3:15 time could not be guaranteed.

Burman said interest in the luxury suites has been "very high" and he expects the 10 suites each will be leased for $40,000 per year by the time they open in the fall of 2010. A slight discount will be given in exchange for long-term leases with pre-payment, he said.

He also is confident the 250 club seats will be taken for $2,500 each per year. These seats will include "a first-class lounge area with excellent food," he added. The athletic department "will use our Priority Point system" to allocate first choices on the club seats, he said. The system is based on the amount of money donated to UW athletics and/or the Cowboy Joe Club.

Burman said UW is the only school in the Mountain West Conference that is not receiving suite/club revenue.

The prestige seating and disabled access work will eliminate some existing bleacher seats.

"We are hopeful that our net loss will not exceed 2,000 seats," Burman said. The stadium currently holds 30,514.

He also noted that the University of New Mexico will be spending $60 million to renovate its basketball arena known as "The Pit." A UNM representative at the sports information office said Tuesday that the project will be funded with $18 million in state capital outlay funds, $17 million in private fundraising and $25 million from a bond to be repaid with athletics department revenues.

UNM is located in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area with an estimated 2007 population of 835,120.

Burman said UW's football stadium "is in desperate need of upgrades" and he predicted the cost of building a new stadium would be $200 million. "When you have the money - which Wyoming does - you better invest wisely, you better maintain important facilities," he said.

The luxury suites/club lounge structure on the east side of the stadium will cost at least $13.6 million plus a significant portion of $5.4 million in design fees and contingencies. The remainder of the east stadium project includes more than $5 million for securing the stadium structure and enhancing concessions and rest rooms. It also includes $1.2 million in entryway/lobby enhancement and more than $3 million for handicapped access.

UW officials this week said the project was designed as a whole and they did not have an estimate for the cost of simply doing the safety enhancements for the upper east grandstand. UW has already spent $1.5 million to shore up and enhance the upper west grandstand and $1 million for the artificial turf placed in War Memorial Stadium.

Approximately one-third of the east stadium project will be paid for by gifts to the athletics department, with the rest coming from state funds and athletics revenues.

UW's budget request to the 2009 Legislature will request authority to spend $8 million on renovation of the lower west grandstand and $2.75 million to pave the east stadium parking lot and address drainage issues. The request will ask for $3 million in athletics facilities state matching funds to spur $3 million in private donations, with the remainder to come from revenue bonds.

Burman said the renovations to the concessions areas under the lower west side should bring an increase in concessions income of more than 50 percent. He said UW athletics conducted an extensive market survey a year ago that showed football fans felt UW was not meeting their needs as to concessions, restrooms and other amenities.

As for the luxury suites, Burman acknowledged that some football fans may not want to be inside to watch the games. He said windows will be used to maintain some of the feel of being outside.

As to sun glare into the suites on the east side, Burman said UW has engaged HOK Architects to design the facility. "They have built suites in just about every location possible in the world. They thoroughly analyzed our plan and have helped us to design a system that will limit sun glare issues," he said.

Burman said he could not guarantee that the east stadium project would improve the team's winning percentage (35-68 since the turn of the century), but he said "there is a direct correlation between budget and consistent success."

The 2007 market survey used telephone interviews and focus groups and found that on the issue of adding premium seating, 43 percent of the respondents felt it was a good idea while 28 percent had a negative reaction. However, the survey report says the focus groups "manifested very strong sentiments for thinking in terms of the greater good for all fans rather than the individual benefit of a small segment of fans. Supporters of Wyoming football were apprehensive that the addition of a premium seating section would create feeling of social class system in the stadium, which would spoil the existing 'we're in this together' feeling."