Blue Raider Athletic Association members are going to feel like they stepped into a home improvement show when football season begins.
The BRAA stadium club has been transformed by Brentwood-based The Parent Company from a cinder block room into a football oasis, complete with a view of the 50-yard line, flat-screen televisions and catering. It has also been renamed the Jeff Hendrix Stadium Club.
“We’re really excited about this and the opportunities it will bring for the game atmosphere and fundraising,” explained Alan Farley, MTSU’s associate director of Athletic Fundraising.
The showplace cost a cool $2.3 million, all in private funds donated in part by the estate of Jeff Hendrix and the Emmett and Rose Kennon estate.
“That $1 million gift from Jeff Hendrix is what made this possible,” Farley said.
The old stadium club had no view of the football field and was mainly decorated with an MT logo on one wall.
But now that wall has been knocked down, and a lounge, called the core area, has a full view of the action right at the 50-yard line.
The core area is centered around the viewing deck, which features eight 47-inch, flat-screen televisions, two 70-inch flat-screen televisions, and an open-seating area with hightop tables, couches and chairs from which fans can watch the Blue Raiders’ home games and leads to nearly 550 reserved outdoor seats.
“There are still premium seats available,” Farley said. “But there’s really not a bad seat in the house.”
The reserved seats will be monogrammed with the names of Founding Circle members, as long as they purchase season tickets.
The Founding Circle is a special opportunity for BRAA members who donate to the Hendrix Stadium Club this year only. Circle members will also have their names engraved on a bronze plaque that will be displayed in the stadium club.
The core area is flanked by two parlors, which boast locker rooms for BRAA members, a drink station and catering kitchens. The parlors are topped off by conversational seating areas with televisions that will show college football games from around the nation.
“That’s so college football fans can keep up with what’s going on around the country,” Farley said, adding the TVs in the core area will be dedicated to the MTSU game.
Farley said an in-game concierge service is also available for all stadium club patrons, and patrons will have access to a buffet two hours before kick off at every home game.
“We aimed at providing a comfortable setting that is service oriented ...” Farley said. “This is the showplace of our premium seating in any Blue Raider venue.”
All this comfort comes at a price, in the form of a yearly tax-deductible contribution to the BRAA. Two seats costs $2,500 annually, four seats costs $5,000 annually, and a $10,000 donation gets eight seats. All donations also come with parking passes.
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