John O'Quinn Field at TDECU Stadium is an American football stadium on the campus of the University of Houston. The stadium serves as the home of the Houston Cougars football team, which represents the University of Houston in collegiate football and the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL.
TDECU Stadium was built on the former site of Robertson Stadium, which was the intermittent home of the school's football program since 1946. Its official name is derived from Texas Dow Employees Credit Union (TDECU), the largest credit union in Houston, which purchased its naming rights in what was then the largest-ever naming rights deal for a college football stadium.
Plans for a new or renovated football venue were developed by the university's athletics department and their contractors as early as 2010. Demolition of Robertson Stadium began on December 3, 2012, and the official groundbreaking for the new stadium was celebrated on February 8, 2013. TDECU Stadium cost US$128 million to build. The University of Houston opened the new stadium on Friday, August 29, 2014 in a contest with UTSA.
History
Planning and funding
Feasibility study
On February 10, 2010, Houston athletics director Mack Rhoades announced that the University of Houston had hired consultant JMI Sports and engineering/architectural design firm AECOM to conduct a feasibility study regarding possible renovations or reconstruction of Houston's Robertson Stadium and Hofheinz Pavilion. Based on the study, Houston officials announced on June 10, 2010, their intention to raze Robertson Stadium in preparation for a new stadium to be built on the same location and to perform major renovations on Hofheinz Pavilion. The plan included a new football stadium with an initial capacity of 40,000 seats with expandability to 60,000. At an estimated $120 million cost, Houston athletics also announced the start of a fundraising drive.
Lead gift
On August 18, 2011, the University of Houston announced that they had received the largest single donation for the stadium when co-CEOs and co-founders of Austin-based Data Foundry, Ron and Carolyn Yokubaitis donated US$10 million to the project. Ron Yokubaitis is an alumnus of the University of Houston and former Cougar football player. Houston officials also reported that $60 million had been raised for the stadium, whereas approximately $80–$85 million was needed to break ground on construction.
Student stadium fee
On November 14, 2011, the Student Fees Advisory Committee (SFAC), a joint student-faculty committee which advises university administration about compulsory student fees, recommended an increase of student fees to specifically construct, maintain, and operate athletic facilities. The committee also recommended that input from the student body was necessary, and that this would be appropriate through a student referendum made possible by future legislation in the Student Government Association (SGA).
On November 30, 2011, Student Senator Jared Gogets introduced the bill SGAR48007 to the Senate in SGA authorizing a referendum for a student service fee increase to be voted on by students as advised by the SFAC two weeks prior. The bill was passed, and a referendum was then organized.
From January 31 to February 1, 2012, UH students voted on a referendum to allow a fee increase to help fund stadium projects. After the votes were tallied, a total of 7,334 students (73.9%) voted in favor of the fee increase, while 2,589 students (26.1%) voted against it. The voter turnout of the student body was the largest in the history of the university.
Request for proposal
Following the conclusion of the 2011 regular football season, the Big East Conference invited Houston to become a full member. (By the time Houston joined in 2013, the conference had split in two along football lines, with Houston joining the football-sponsoring legal successor now known as the American Athletic Conference.) During the University of Houston's official announcement of its acceptance to the athletic conference on December 9, 2011, Chairwoman of the University of Houston System Board of Regents Nelda Luce Blair announced that the university would issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) to the public in order to obtain new architectural plans. She also noted that ground-breaking was expected to occur in October 2012.
The ground-breaking date was later revised to December 2012 when the RFQ was officially presented to the public on January 9, 2012. It was also revealed that the planned completion date would be in July 2014 in time for the 2014 football season.