It took 25 years, a total of $60 million and the largest cash gift in the history of Iowa State, but at long last, the south end zone at Jack Trice Stadium has been enclosed by a spectacularly imposing addition.

“I feel honored that I happen to be the AD that’s here when it’s happening, but this is far greater than any one person and any one set of individuals,” said ISU athletic director Jamie Pollard. “This is a dream and a vision that people have had for a long time about this place, and it’s just really cool to be part of it happening.”

The stands — individual seats as opposed to bleachers — line the gradual rise to the addition’s balcony with cardinal red. The new videoboard looms above the two-story addition, facing its counterpart above the Jacobson building on the field’s north end.

Inside the end zone club, walls decorated with murals depicting Cyclone glory create an ambiance for club members who can lounge at multiple bars lined with flat screen televisions. Concession alcoves are cut into the sides of the lobby.

Up two flights of stairs, light from walls of windows illuminate a similar floor plan, with one major difference: A bird’s eye view of Jack Trice and it’s now 61,500 seat capacity — the third largest venue in the Big 12 — as the edge of the ISU campus stretches off in the northern distance.

“It’s just another major step in a continuum of success,” said ISU athletic director Jamie Pollard. “You don’t change the history of a program overnight. We’ve talked about that. We all want to win, and we all want to win today, but it’s generational, and especially in the sport of football.”