Notre Dame announces $400M stadium expansion

The University's president called it the "most ambitious building project" in the school's history. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Notre Dame announced on Wednesday a $400 million plan to expand the Irish's 84-year-old football stadium, according to Margaret Fosmoe of the South Bend Tribune. 

The construction project, the most expensive in the university's 172-year history, calls for three new academic and student life buildings on the exterior of the stadium. The school will also add approximately 4,000 new seats, which would bring total stadium capacity to nearly 85,000 people.

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According to the Associated Press, the project is expected to get underway next year and will likely take three years to complete. The stadium opened in 1930 and held 59,075 people at the time. Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John Jenkins, called the project announced Wednesday "the most ambitious building project in the 172-year history of Notre Dame," according to the AP report:

"We really have a vision to dream big and look at possibilities that haven't yet been realized. I see this as part of that ongoing effort to dream bigger."

The new student center, which will be built in the current location of the press box, will house, among other things, a 500-seat ballroom, a dining area and club seating for football, and booths for NBC Sports. The exact location of the press box will be turned into premium seating for games and events at the stadium.

Wednesday's announcement by the school comes one week after Notre Dame signed a contract with apparel and sports gear brand Under Armour for its 26 varsity teams, a deal that's projected to be worth $90 million to $100 million, according to Fosmoe.

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