WVU Details $156 Million West Tower with Expanded Premium Seating at Milan Puskar Stadium
The four-level addition will introduce Founders Suites, luxury suites, elevated and traditional loge boxes, new club seating and hospitality, and a modern game operations center for the 2028 football season.
West Virginia University Athletics has formally released new details for the planned West Tower at Milan Puskar Stadium, a $156 million redevelopment that will replace the existing west-side press box and significantly expand the venue’s premium seating inventory.
The four-level tower is targeted to open for the 2028 football season, with initial demolition scheduled to begin in December following the conclusion of the 2026 season. WVU’s Board of Governors approved construction plans for the project in September.
The first three floors will be devoted largely to premium seating and hospitality, including nine Founders Suites, 16 Luxury Suites, Elevated Loge Boxes, Traditional Loge Boxes, and a new premium lounge serving club seats positioned along the west side of the stadium.
The fourth floor will become a new game operations center with space for media, national television, radio broadcasts, production, and other gameday functions.
“The West Tower project at Milan Puskar Stadium is one of the most important projects and renovations that our department has ever undertaken. We are engaging in a very aggressive timeline to complete this project for the 2028 season because the strength of our department depends on it.” – Wren Baker, Vice President and Director of Athletics, West Virginia University
WVU has also launched MPSNext, a dedicated project and premium sales platform featuring design visuals, project FAQs, level-by-level premium space information, construction updates, and an interest form for prospective buyers.
Early demand is already strong. Eight of the nine Founders Suites have been committed, leaving one available, while six of the 16 Luxury Suites have been sold. WVU is also accepting interest for the new Elevated Loge Boxes and Traditional Loge Boxes.
The Mountaineer Athletic Club will manage the allocation and sales process. Premium spaces will be sold as inventory permits to buyers who meet the required qualifying capital gift commitment.
“Our fans have let us know in a big way that they want more premium options, and this project provides a future revenue stream that others have but we lacked. Not only will it be a fantastic update for the stadium but it also narrows the gap in premium seating between us and our competition.” – Wren Baker, Vice President and Director of Athletics, West Virginia University
That revenue component is central to the investment. Milan Puskar Stadium currently ranks near the bottom of the Big 12 in premium seating inventory, and Baker has said the new tower could generate more than $6 million annually from premium seating once complete.
The project also introduces a wider range of premium formats rather than relying primarily on traditional suites. New club seats will be installed in front of the West Tower, replacing some existing bleacher seating with wider chairback seating. Baker has said the resulting capacity reduction is expected to be minimal, potentially around 200 seats from the stadium’s current 60,000 capacity.
Existing Milan Puskar Stadium premium inventory includes traditional suites, the Diversified Energy Terrace Club, and semi-private Field Boxes. The West Tower will add another tier of products designed to broaden the range of hospitality and price points available to donors, corporate buyers, and other premium customers.
SLAM Architects is leading design of the new tower. The firm has completed more than 550 sports projects across 108 campuses, including more than 25 projects at WVU.
Legends Global is serving as owner’s representative from pre-design through project closeout. Its role includes oversight of budgeting, construction schedules, quality, risk control, and coordination between WVU, architects, and contractors.
“We are truly excited to partner with West Virginia University on the Milan Puskar Stadium project. We look forward to continued collaboration with the University and WVU Athletics to help deliver a project that all Mountaineer fans, students and supporters will be proud of.” – Chris Nations, President of Owner’s Representation, Legends Global
Barton Malow and March-Westin are jointly serving as construction managers, overseeing preconstruction planning, procurement, cost and schedule management, and daily onsite construction activity. March-Westin brings extensive experience working at Milan Puskar Stadium and across the WVU campus, while Barton Malow contributes a national portfolio of collegiate and professional sports projects.
“Our team is proud to partner with West Virginia University Athletics, Legends Global as the owner’s representative, the SLAM Collaborative design team and Barton Malow in this joint venture to deliver a transformational renovation in Milan Puskar Stadium.” – Jamie Ridgeway, President, March-Westin
The $156 million project is expected to be financed through a combination of fundraising, premium sales, naming rights, and sponsorship efforts. Baker has previously said WVU believes it can raise the vast majority of the project cost through donations, potentially avoiding significant long-term debt.
The tower is also being designed as part of a broader effort to make Milan Puskar Stadium more flexible for non-football programming. WVU is studying infrastructure improvements that would make the building more suitable for major concerts and other large-scale events, including modifications that could improve access for production equipment and semi-trucks to reach the field.
Construction during the 2027 season will require temporary accommodations for existing premium customers displaced by demolition of the current press box and suites. Baker has said WVU is exploring temporary hospitality structures for donors and business supporters, with the possibility that successful concepts could inform future permanent premium additions elsewhere in the stadium.
The West Tower represents one of the largest revenue-generating capital investments in WVU Athletics history, combining premium expansion, modernized media operations, and future event capability within a single redevelopment.
