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Construction on the expanding Tyser Tower is on schedule with other Byrd stadium additions and expected to be finished by the start of the upcoming football season, according to university officials.

But it will take a little longer for Terp fans to actually watch from the expansions, which will triple the tower's size and add 64 luxury boxes, increasing Tyser Tower's capacity to 3,300. Workers will spend the 2008 season on the expansion's exterior and the first half of 2009 renovating the existing structure.

The $50.8 million budget has also remained the same, according to university officials.

"It's been pretty smooth since we started construction," said Carlo Colella, director of architecture, engineering and construction at the university. "We're on budget, we're on time, and everything is moving very well."

The project is only about a quarter done. But officials do not anticipate any future alterations to the budget, said Larry Leckonby, senior associate athletics director.

"We've got about a year and a half to go," Leckonby said. "I'll keep my fingers crossed, but so far we're on schedule and on budget."

The plan is for the structure of the expansion to be finished by the beginning of the 2008 football season, said project manager Dave Jenkins of Clark Construction, the firm heading the project.

"All the structural work will be done, and we'll be beginning all the 'skin' work this fall," Jenkins said. "Provisions have been made in the design to allow us to work while football games are being played."

By "skin," Jenkins means the exterior facade of the structure, such as brick work and exterior walls. Some interior work that is unaffected by weather, such as piping, electrical and telecommunications wiring, will be ongoing while the "skin" is put up.

Once the season is over, the existing tower will be gutted and renovated in preparation for the 2009 season.

"Right now, we are focused on the new structures on either side of the existing press box," Colella said. "The plan is for the existing press box to continue to function throughout the football season … We'll start renovating the existing tower the day after the last football game."

The project, slated to be finished by Aug. 31, 2009, will not interfere with any summer activities or parking, thanks to an existing construction perimeter.

"We've worked very closely with the contractor to minimize the amount of space they need to build the project well," Colella said. "It's a pretty heavily trafficked area to get from the high-rise dorms to the other side of campus, and I think we've set up a nice pedestrian pathway that separates from the construction activity."

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*CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, the article incorrectly states which facility will experience a capacity increase due to the renovations. Tyser Tower's capacity will be increased to 3,300.

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