Arizona State football fans must wait another year to behold the splendor of a new 48-foot-by-113-foot video board at Sun Devil Stadium, but there will be plenty of improvements to take in when the 2016 season begins Sept. 3.
Foremost, naturally, is the remodeled west side, focus of the second major construction phase in a $268-million project that actually began with preliminary work in 2014.
More than 13,400 seats with backs and cupholders replace bleacher seating on the lower west side (12,000) and cantilever sections in the upper west (1,400). ASU athletics Chief Operating Officer Rocky Harris said seat backs "rose to the top of the list" in importance to fans in surveys and focus group meetings about improving the almost 60-year-old stadium.