LOGAN — Looking out from the press box at Maverik Stadium, the view is largely unchanged. The Bear River Mountains remain as they have for eons.
But looking in, it’s a different world.
The Aggies opened their conference football season Saturday against Air Force and, as they say in the military, the house was in service dress. Not since the original press box went up in 1968 have things been so sparkling new. Pristine video boards have risen in both end zones.
But the big story is the press box, which was a half-century in the making. For those who work there on a regular basis, it was worth the wait. Five floors of concrete, glass, steel and Aggie attitude.
Everyone loves a new house.
The new facility actually can’t simply be called a press box. Official name is the West Stadium Center at Maverik Stadium. Decades ago, a college would build a stadium and raise a one-story slab to house media. Romney Stadium had space in the main press area for 40 reporters. The new one has 51. There is room for an additional 30 if needed.
“It’s everything we need,” said sports information director Doug Hoffman.
For how long?
“Forever,” he said.
There are booths for both home and visiting coaches, TV and radio (national and local) athletic officials, video replay, public announcer, scoreboard personnel, online services, etc. But the suite for USU athletics director John Hartwell is flat out luxurious: cushioned lounge furniture, swivel seats, HD televisions, buffet table, open/closed-air windows, and a view to envy.
Crazily, the old press box lasted almost 47 years. It had its charms. While many modern press boxes are hermetically sealed, reporters could throw up the windows and let the autumn breeze ruffle their papers. The box had built-in shelving beneath the press table, to store papers. Later, the same shelving actually served as a place to stow laptops.
On the downside, there weren’t nearly enough bathrooms: one. Now there are four gender-neutral facilities on the press level alone.
In the earlier era, the lone bathroom accommodated only one gender: men. Women took the stairs to the concourse.
That was another problem. There was no elevator. Legend has it that former Tribune sports editor John Mooney stopped attending games in Logan — unless the Utes were playing — partially because he didn’t want to walk the stadium steps. The biggest problem wasn’t getting up there; it was afterward going down to the field for interviews, then hiking back. It was 69 stairsteps from the field to the concourse, another 60 to the back of the stadium where the press box stood.
So about a year ago, the improvements began. For $36 million, the Aggies got their dream home. It includes 20 luxury suites and 20 loge boxes. Additionally, there are 700 covered club seats and a premium club area that includes two fireplaces.
Cue the easy listening music.
E.L. “Dick” Romney, who coached at USU from 1919-1948, couldn’t have imagined such a difference.
Actually, there are still remnants of the Romney days. One press box wall is highlighted by a panoramic photo of the original football stadium, circa 1927, which was located a few blocks south. Also included are several large panels showing old game programs. Oddly enough, the program for the 1935 Thanksgiving Day game against Utah was 25 cents.
Until this year, the programs still only cost a dollar.
It was the best deal of the last half-century.
Craig Hislop, who served as SID from 1972-93, was a student assistant in 1968, when the original press box went up. Four years later they visited Oklahoma.
Already, Hislop says, he could see the Romney facility wouldn’t always be enough.
“I remember thinking, ‘I’ve seen the world,’” he said.
Turned out that a world away and decades later, the Aggies are finally starting to catch up.
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