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Anyone that has ever been to Kyle Field on a game day will readily agree that it serves as one of the greatest college atmospheres in the nation. The Corps of Cadets marching in, tailgating that spans the majority of the campus, and the largest student section in college football go a long way to make sure Texas A&M and Kyle Field remain near the top of that discussion. A little cosmetic touching up this past off-season to the facade of the stadium was a nice piece of gauze on a severed artery, but there is a lot of work to be done to bring The Home of the 12th Man up to modern standards. For those that frequent Kyle Field on a regular basis, three things some to mind: Bat shit, crickets, horse trough urinals (sure, you can throw a screeching eardrum rupturing jumbotron into the discussion). We all know the way to fix the problem is to make it bigger, and bring in more bat shit. According to Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp, Texas A&M fans can soon look forward to seeing the College Station bat sanctuary reach up to 103,500 capacity.
In a small meeting with Bryan-College Station government officials, Chancellor Sharp discussed tentative plans for renovating Kyle Field for up to 103,500 seating capacity with a price tag as high as an estimated $450 million. If you took part in the 12th Man Foundation and Populous survey on the Kyle Field project, the price tag mentioned by Chancellor Sharp should not be a surprise. As soon as the survey went out, Texas A&M fans flocked to their message board of choice to complain about the price tag Populous had listed for some of the premium seating options they are exploring. At a $450 million price tag, the money obviously has to come from somewhere.
According to a report by The Eagle, a chunk of that money is being asked to come from the local governments. Local business owner scoff at the idea of being asked to help front the $38 million that Chancellor Sharp mentioned. That's kind of strange, since these same business owners are the same ones that have started socking up on water, bleach, and batteries in preparation for the Brazos Valley Depression if the Aggies have to play in a different city during construction. It's kind of difficult to side with a group that says they desperately need Aggie home games to keep their business afloat, but want absolutely no part in helping keep Aggie football games in College Station. If you've ever lived in College Station, this definitely does not come as a surprise.
Of course, we are only dealing in speculation at this point as no official decision or announcement has been made. We certainly hope the final plan isn't to renovate over three years like John Sharp mentioned. Kind of strange that he mentioned that as the plan, since most A&M fans have stated that as their least-preferred option. Either way, keep checking in with Good Bull Hunting and we will update the Kyle Field Extreme Makeover as news develops. Like the Storystream to stay in the loop!