Crews begin demolishing the Spence Clark Football Center in the south end zone at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City on Monday. The structure will be razed over a five-week period to make way for the Ken Garff Performance Zone, which is set to open for the 2021 football season. Once the $80 million project is complete, the capacity at the on-campus facility will grow from 45,807 seats to 51,444 seats. In order for the project to proceed, crews had to remove the 2002 Winter Olympics cauldron. Once refurbished it’ll rest on what Josh Haines, vice president Layton Construction, said will be an “impressive structure” 130-feet high just outside the southwest corner of the stadium. It’ll be visible from inside the facility. A plaza and a water feature is being constructed around the cauldron’s new base.
