Texas Tech athletics “plans to acquire” the Dustin R. Womble Football Center and the Jones AT&T Stadium south end zone building from the Red Raider Facilities Foundation that has been overseeing the project and “structure a payment plan of more than” $200M over 30 years, according to Don Williams of LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL. Texas Tech initially announced the project as a $200M undertaking, but that grew to $242M as “additional components were added.” The initial fundraising goal consisted of “private gifts and pledges of at least” $100M. The project actually commenced after the 2022 season with $81M in commitments. Texas Tech Senior Associate AD & CFO Lacy Needham said that the “total of gifts and pledges now is a little less than” $116M. Williams noted Texas Tech has planned to “pay off the difference via a combination of philanthropic gifts, financing, game-day premium revenue generated by the south end zone and operating revenue on the annual budget.” The school currently has a little more than $60.5M in total athletics related debt. It had a little more than $12.2M in athletics facilities debt service, leasing and rental fees on the operating budget for FY2024 that ended in August. It paid down more than $23M in athletics facilities debt service in FY2023 with an “eye toward taking on the new debt for the football projects.” AD Kirdy Hocutt indicated that he is “comfortable with the debt level as the department pivots toward revenue sharing with athletes as the new priority” (LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL, 3/3).
Texas Tech athletics set to purchase, pay off football facilities
