Pac-12 Renovations: ASU Football, Sun Devil Stadium

The Pac-12 is not just undergoing a media facelift with their new television deal. A lot of the new stadiums are being modernized to handle the current load

In this post, Arizona State, and the renovation for Sun Devil Stadium.

Attendance: Reduced from 71,706 to anywhere from 55,000 to 65,000

Cost: Up to $300 million

Logistics: House of Sparky fills you in.

Renovations on the stadium will begin following the 2012 season, with a target completion date prior to the beginning of 2017. The location between the two buttes is a complicating factor in the renovations, forcing the renovation to be done in phases, with the east side done first, followed by the west, with the roof being the final piece. As such, the team may have to play one or two seasons away from the friendly confines in Tempe, at either University of Phoenix Stadium or Chase Field. "We won't go play in Tucson," joked Patterson.

Photo plans: Here you can see the proposed canopy that would drape the stadium.

Financial planning: Private donations, premium-seating revenue, Pac-12 television revenue, possibly state bonds. But no tuition or tax support from the university will be involved.

Football inconveniencing: The Sun Devils could spend up to two years outside of Sun Devil Stadium, but they have two pro-ready sites in Chase Field (Diamondbacks ballpark) and University of Phoenix Stadium (Cardinals stadium). Not the worst places in the world to play football, and University of Phoenix is one of the most modern American facilities in any sport, particularly football.

Stadium changes: The biggest addition will be the use of a canopy that will help provide much-needed shade for ASU home games during the early part of the season.

The fixed fabric canopy would cover upper decks on the eastern and western sides, reducing temperatures an estimated 15-20 degrees, allowing for day games earlier in the season, important with the launch this year of the Pac-12 television network.

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The shade canopy would be similar to the fabric roof at BC Place in Vancouver. The fabric is porous but not transparent. ASU officials said traditional fireworks at football games still could be fired from the buttes for those outside the stadium to see and there also are pyrotechnic options under the canopy, which is strong enough to withstand anything short of a major snowstorm.

Students and the band could be moving to the end zone. Artificial field turf instead of grass, large seats with leg room, premium and club seats with suites and press box, as well as video boards and sound system. The new club system will start being installed sometime this season.