Year Two for New Stadium at CSU

By: Toni Lapp

The return of Colorado State University football games to campus in 2017 brought the Ram’s game day pageantry back to the heart of the university for the first time in 50 years. The stadium’s design embraces Colorado’s natural beauty, topography and visual connections to the Rocky Mountains, and ensures functionality for a variety of events.

In its inaugural season last year, the new stadium drew rave reviews from local and national media, as well as national TV networks that broadcast CSU’s games. The Rams’ attendance at home games averaged 32,062, representing a 16 percent increase in attendance from 2016, and eighth-highest in all of college football. Season ticket sales were 15,477, an all-time high and 40 percent increase over 2016.

So, what’s in store for year two?

For one, a new name. The 41,000-capacity multipurpose stadium will be known as Canvas Stadium. Public Service Credit Union, which recently rebranded under the name Canvas Credit Union received naming rights to the facility through a $37.7 million partnership agreement announced earlier this year. The playing area will continue to be called Sonny Lubick Field.

The stadium’s two VIP areas—The New Belgium Porch in the north end zone and the Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies (OCR) Field Club behind the Rams’ bench at midfield—are accessible as add-ons to season ticketholders, but all premium seats, including suites, have been sold out for 2018.

The New Belgium Porch will be the setting for live music performances, known as Stadium Sessions, at home-game events, featuring local food trucks and a variety of family activities. On Friday nights before Saturday home games, between 4 and 6 p.m., a Colorado band will perform. And beginning two hours before kickoff on Saturdays, a youth performer from Little Kids Rock will take the stage in the Ram Walk area north of the stadium, followed by a performance from a regional favorite.

STADIUM FACTS

CAPACITY

41,000, with seating for 36,500

PREMIUM SEATING

10,000 seats on the east side lower bowl

VIDEOBOARD & RIBBON BOARDS

Main board measures 50.5 feet by 84 feet (4,242 square feet), largest in the Mountain West and along the Front Range; nearly the size of a basketball court. 1,270 feet of ribbon board around the stadium displays in-game stats, sponsor elements, out-of-town scores and other visual elements.

HALL OF CHAMPIONS

On the west side at the main entry, the 6,300-square-foot space features displays of Colorado State’s rich athletics history and leads into the OCR Field Club.

FOOTBALL OPERATIONS

CSU’s football operations are incorporated into the building, which include a weight room, sports medicine offices, meeting rooms, office space for football staff and a player/recruit lounge.

WHAT IS CANVAS?

In April, the 80-year-old Public Service Credit Union, based in Lone Tree, Colorado, bought the naming rights for Colorado State University’s new stadium. The move comes at a crucial time for the credit union, which is rebranding and undergoing a name change—to Canvas Credit Union.

According to its site, the name Canvas was chosen “after a whole lot of research and testing.” 

The feedback to the name Canvas was overwhelmingly positive, according to credit union officials. 

“One person we talked with said, ‘I can see it as a blank canvas, and being able to create a better life through the financial backing of the credit union.”

The opportunity to name the CSU stadium was a “perfect fit,” because of the organizations’ shared values, said a press release. 

The credit union’s ties to college football are strong; legendary CSU football coach Sonny Lubick is vice president for community outreach. And for the past two years, the credit union has sponsored the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the game between rivals CSU Rams and University of Colorado Buffaloes.