The Board of Regents on Tuesday approved the $19.5 million first phase of Iowa State’s athletic facilities master plan, allowing the university to continue moving toward athletic director Jamie Pollard’s vision of a completely renovated Jack Trice Stadium and Hilton Coliseum.

Final approval for the project could come at the board meeting in June, when the regents would approve the $16 million in bonds that would make up most of the project’s funding, said Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance.

The remaining $3.5 million required by the plan has already been raised, and once bonding is approved, Pollard and the athletic department can continue “taking the next big step” – the title of the department’s strategic plan.

“Once we get the bonding, we can start putting the shovels in the ground,” Pollard said.

The initial phase of the two-part renovation to 31-year-old Jack Trice Stadium will be to construct 22 new suites – bringing the total of $30,000 to $40,000-per-season suites to 48, renovate the Cyclone Club premium seating area and replace bathroom and concessions buildings, all while doubling the width of the concourse on the stadium’s west, nonstudent side.

Pollard said the first stage of Jack Trice upgrades were chosen for their revenue-generating capability – the new suites will pay off the bonds needed for their construction. The planned $32 million Hilton Coliseum practice facility did not have this capability. The speed with which the master plan proceeds will depend on the availability of funding, Pollard said.

“Maybe this time next year we’re standing here talking about bowling-in the (south) end zone,” Pollard said, referring to the centerpiece of the project’s second stage.

Madden said the project’s first phase is “slightly revised” from the proposal presented to the board last June. The renovations to the west concourse and bathroom and concessions buildings were deemed necessary and moved ahead in the process after back-to-back crowds last season of more than 55,000 showed the aging stadium struggled to handle a full house, Pollard said.

The primary complaint from season ticket holders, Pollard said, was the bathroom and concessions situation. And after the two huge crowds last fall, Pollard said he feared some concessions situations and worried fans “may never come back because of how [cramped] they felt.”

The first phase of work on the Jack Trice improvements is a 10-month process scheduled to begin immediately following the 2007 football season and to be completed in time for the 2008 season.

Fundraising for the remaining portions of the master plan appear to be on schedule, with Pollard saying the athletic department is on pace to nearly double what it had raised in a single year.

But, Pollard cautioned, there’s a long way to go.

“I’d say we’re right where we thought we’d be,” Pollard said. “We’re in the early stages of a long journey.”