A top Green Bay Packers official said Friday the team hopes to begin construction on an expansion of the south end-zone area at historic Lambeau Field after next year's Super Bowl in February.
Jason Wied, the team's general counsel and vice president of administration, said consultants believe the franchise can add as many as 7,500 seats in the south end-zone area, which was left open when the team finished its $295 million Lambeau Field makeover in 2003.
Capacity at Lambeau Field is 73,128.
"We would love to get it started next February. I would expect it would take a couple of seasons to do it," Wied said. "We obviously want to play through construction. That makes it a little harder to accelerate it."
Wied also disclosed that the team would finance the construction - a cost estimate was not released - on its own. There will be no public tax financing of the project, he said.
"We haven't buttoned down all of the financing. But we intend to do it on our own," Wied said.
The Packers financed the last stadium makeover through a combination of a 0.5% Brown County sales tax, a user fee on seat-holders, a National Football League loan and a stock sale.
While the Packers have not arrived at a financing plan, imposition of a user fee would seem likely because other season-seat holders paid the user fee during the last construction project. A stock sale, last held in 1997-'98, would be problematic because it would have to overcome regulatory hurdles as well as approval from NFL owners.
"There are multiple options for financing," Wied said.
Green ticket holders paid $1,400 per seat the last time around; Gold seat holders paid $600 per seat.
Despite the ongoing NFL lockout, which threatens the 2011 season, the Packers clearly feel now is the right time to move on expansion. Armed with a worldwide fan base, the Packers sell out every home game and have a season-ticket waiting list in the tens of thousands.
And they are the defending Super Bowl champions.
"This is about the long-term viability of the stadium," Wied said.
Wied said current season-ticket holders, as well as those on the waiting list, received surveys this week asking for input on the best seating configurations.
Wied said one idea being discussed internally is giving existing seat holders the option of moving to the new seating in the south end-zone area and giving incoming seat holders the opportunity to purchase seats in the current bowl.
"This would be an opportunity to potentially jockey some people around in the stadium if that's what they want," Wied said. "People have been buying seats for a long time. It seems right they would get the first option to get a shot at the new section."