MORGANTOWN — With the 2016-17 basketball season beginning tonight against Mount St. Mary’s at 7 p.m., Mountaineer fans will get to see the progress of the Coliseum renovations with the completion of phase one and the goal to see phase two’s end by the Dec. 10 games.
April Messerly, associate athletic director for facilities/operations provided the tour that highlighted the changes.
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Now back to the Coliseum renovations. One change came when fans were asked to vote to rename two of the gates at the Coliseum. The red gate has been renamed the Country Roads Gate, while the green gate has been renamed the Mountaineer Gate. Along with the name change, the Mountaineer Gate (green gate) will now be the student gate.
Another change at the gates is that tickets will only be sold now at the gold gate. Guest services is located across from the gold gate.
Inside the Coliseum the section numbers have changed. Even numbers are no longer on the opposite side of the court from the odd numbers. The three tiers in the Coliseum are now as follows: lowest tier is court level seats, the second tier is the 100 level and the third tier is the 200 level.
Concession stands can now be found only on the outer ring of the concourse. New concessions have been added including the Mountaineer Cafe which will have booths and tables for people to eat at before or during the game. There has also been a Country Roads Pit Stop added, which Messerly explained to be like a grab-n-go as seen in airports. There will also be a Wild and Wonderful Canteen. The cafe and canteen will not be open until the Dec. 10 games.
The additions take the point-of-sales from 21 to 40 not including the portable stands, Messerly said. New concession stand foods include a walking taco, pulled pork barbecue sliders, loaded pepperoni rolls, paninis, quesadillas and there will be carving stations at the cafe.
In addition to the food additions, the Coliseum will now offer beer sales beginning tonight. The beer sales will shut off after halftime concludes.
A total of 43 TVs were added to view the game while in the concourse.
Several restrooms were added with the addition of over 100 women’s toilets, seven men’s toilets, 26 urinals and three family restrooms. All restrooms on the concourse are ADA accessible.
The team shop is located at the blue gate, beside the Hot Rod Hundley statue. The shop now has an exterior door for access when the Coliseum is closed.
The Hall of Fame is going digital. Photos of Hall of Fame Members are being returned to the hall of fame member. Messerly said going digital will allow them to add more photos, play videos and more.
In the off season, in the spring after commencement, they will be upgrading ADA seating with the goal of having it complete by volleyball in August, 2017.
Messerly said that the renovations to the Coliseum brings everything up to code with its capacity.
After tonight’s game, WVU will host Mississippi Valley St. at 7 p.m.Monday.
