There are lots of big questions for Tech athletics. I imagine plans to expand the current Lane structure would easily cost 100 million+. The only good news is probably that some of the planning and design work has already been done. I'd like to think Whit already has stadium expansion plans in his file cabinet, and that was all done when the stadium was expanded to 66K.

But the time will come. Current undergrad enrollment is at 27K. That's a 5K growth from the old days when Lane sat 51K. So long term, enrollment goes up to 35K. New parts of the Blacksburg campus are built, plus the medical school and Amazon campus' are built. That's grad school, but will still increase demand to watch Tech football in the later decades.

The challenges are costs to upgrade the existing Lane structure. That was a know issue 40 years ago, and I'm sure its only gotten more expensive. Parking! Fixing I-81! That sadly is something that should have happened 30 years ago. But in the future, imagine a 40K stadium at JMU, an 80K stadium at Tech, and I-81 having to get people to and from the schools.

Then there is the question of how a larger football stadium fits in the overall athletic department goals. There is also the question about what you do with Cassell Colisium. At some point, does Tech need a newer, larger basketball arena?

Amazing stuff, and imagine, once upon a time, Tech's baseball field sat between Merryman and Lane, and Rector Field House was the indoor speed facility.