UNT to open pedestrian bridge to Apogee Stadium Oct.16
What: Ribbon cutting ceremony for the pedestrian bridge connecting the University of North Texas' main campus to Apogee Stadium
When: 5-5:30 p.m. Oct. 16 (Tuesday)
Where: Bridge entrance on the south side of Lot 20, which is located along North Texas Boulevard and Interstate 35 East, south of Fouts Field and the Air Force ROTC Building and just north of the Murchison Performing Arts Center
Who: UNT President V. Lane Rawlins; Rudy Reynoso, president of the Student Government Association; and Denton County Judge Mary Horn will open the bridge. UNT System Chancellor Lee Jackson is expected to attend.
DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Thundering drums, a student march from residence halls and cheers will mark the opening of a pedestrian bridge over Interstate 35 East to connect the University of North Texas' main campus to Apogee Stadium.
A ribbon cutting ceremony for the $2.5 million bridge, built by the Texas Department of Transportation, will take place from 5-5:30 p.m. Oct. 16 (Tuesday). UNT's football game in Apogee Stadium against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette begins at 8 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
The entrance to the pedestrian bridge is in Lot 20, located just south of Fouts Field and the Air Force ROTC Building and just north of the Murchison Performing Arts Center. Construction of the bridge, which is 20 feet wide, 354 feet long and 17 feet tall, began in February to offer a more direct route to the stadium. Those attending games and other events at the stadium have been crossing Interstate 35 via the North Texas Boulevard bridge since the stadium opened in September 2011.
UNT contributed $1 million toward the construction of the bridge, as well as donating the right of way to the land on either side of the interstate. Denton County paid for the balance of the construction from Regional Toll Revenue Funds.
The ribbon cutting ceremony will begin with student groups marching to Lot 20 from Kerr and Legends residence halls. UNT Cheer, the cheerleading squad; the UNT Dancers; UNT mascot Scrappy and the drumline from the Green Brigade marching band, which was recently named the top drumline in college football by the national sports website Bleacher Report, will be on hand.
UNT President V. Lane Rawlins and Rudy Reynoso, president of the Student Government Association, will speak. Rawlins and Denton County Judge Mary Horn will cut the ribbon to officially open the bridge, and will lead the procession across the bridge.
In the future, UNT will add design features to the bridge, including landscaping, lighting and plazas.
UNT News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
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