One look at Bobby Bowden Field explains why there will be no spring game in Doak Campbell Stadium this year. The roadbed for a massive crane stretches down the west sideline with much of that half of the field serving as a laydown area for materials for the west sideline renovation project.

Day after day, week after week, that crane will creep down the sideline hoisting one piece after another to construction crews charged with completing the $250 million project in time for the 2025 season-opening home game against the University of Alabama on Aug. 30.

Because the nine-story, University Center Building C blocks access from the west contractors must position the crane and the materials on the playing surface during this phase of construction.

While the roadbed protects the underground irrigation system from the weight of the crane, it does not protect the sod, which will have to be replaced in time for the home opener. So once the crane, roadbed and materials are removed, time must be allocated to resod the field before it is safe to play a game on the surface.

With less than 225 days between now and the Alabama game, there are no days to waste.

Florida State senior associate athletic director Ben Zierden, who is coordinating the stadium projects as well as the football operations project, said both projects are on schedule to be completed on time.

Prior to the 2024 season, construction crews completed the foundation work, and the buried infrastructure — plumbing, electric, sewers and grease pits — as well metal support columns and concrete seating decks for the upper rows of the westside seats. They were also able to pour portions of the concourse with rough ins for the restrooms and concessions before and during the 2024 season.

In the coming months we should see the lower portion of the west side seating deck emerge while the midlevel skyboxes, kitchens and westside club is completed beneath the seating deck.

The Dunlap Champions Club renovation in the south end zone must also be completed by Aug. 30, and Zierden reports it too is on schedule.

What is noticeable at this point is that the garnet and gold seats have been removed and will be replaced later in the process with black seats that feature a breathable, suspension mesh bottom and back.

The 4th floor alterations will affect the last few rows, which will be converted to "boxes" where patrons will have outdoor seats with the existing glass storefront behind them with a door that will enter into main ballroom area.

The 6th floor alterations are more significant. Rather than 13 rows of club seats, there will be six rows with standing-height tables and chairs under the east and west canopies. There will still be 13 rows in the middle, outside the Rick Kearney Grill, with the same club seats as on the 4th floor.

The changes, when complete, will reduce seating capacity from 5,800 to 4,000 seats. We will bring you video updates as the project progresses.

The 150,000-square-foot structure began to emerge throughout football season but now that the outer walls are framed from foundation to roof, a massive structure now greets visitors as they travel down Stadium Drive.

Attached to the existing Dunlap Athletic Training Center, the football operations facility will include all football operations offices, coaches offices, position meeting rooms, an indoor walk-thru meeting area outside the position meeting rooms, locker room, team meeting room, coaches' video and video production offices, player development area, virtual reality/performance enhancement area, recruiting lounge, private event space, strength training and weight room, nutrition stations, walk-thru recovery pools, underwater treadmill pools, hot/cold plunge pools, recovery suite, cryotherapy, hyperbaric chamber, high-altitude room.

The facility is scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2025.

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