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Standing Tall for Football
Many fans say watching a football game on TV is better than the real thing. The kitchen is their concession stand, and there is instant replay.
Former Ram football teammates Tom Cataldo ’71 and Kurt Wicks ’73 and head football coach Tim Stowers would disagree.
That’s because Meade Stadium’s new west stands, put into action last fall, give 2,080 fans a great view of the game and easy access to the Ryan Center for concessions and restrooms.
The $1.15 million project would have been impossible without the efforts of Cataldo and Wicks, who raised $530,000 from football alumni and friends to supplement University funds.
“Our fans, players, and coaches are greatly indebted to Tom and Kurt and the other donors for giving URI football a profound shot in the arm,” Stowers said. “This is the first major change to the facilities since 1978. Some of the greatest years for Rhode Island football followed those improvements. We believe the new upgrades will have the same effect.”
The University funded a new scoreboard and plastic seat coverings to improve the comfort and look of the east stands.
Stowers said the new stands have changed the atmosphere at Meade. “In the Brown game, during the last few plays when Brown was threatening, the crowd in the new section was really loud. They were like the 12th man; we never experienced anything like that before.”
“You are right on top of the field and the players,” said Cataldo, who said the project fulfilled a University promise to replace the old concrete stands that were razed to make room for the Ryan Center. “Now the players feel like they are playing in a real stadium.”
The support of former football players and the University inspired Cataldo and Wicks. “There was a groundswell among the football alumni; they just needed to be asked to help,” Cataldo said.
Wicks said he and his fellow alumni are passionate about the school and the football program. “We got 130 pledges for the project, so it worked out tremendously. But this is just the beginning.”
Wicks and Cataldo remain engaged as members of a committee to raise $5 million for athletics in the new capital campaign, with much of the focus on a comprehensive athletic development center that will benefit all student-athletes.
“The fun of the stands project was talking to guys who have become successful and have such an impact,” Wicks said. “Many of them are teachers and coaches, one owns a bank, and another owns a big construction company. It’s a credit to the great education we received at URI. We are committed to first class facilities and a winning football team.”
By Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ’87
