Atkinson said the repairs are intended to “add life” to the stadium.

“Due to the age of the facility, due to the weather conditions, due to the use — all of these are reasons for the repairs,” Atkinson said.

Greg Ianni, the senior associate athletics director for facilities and sports management, said the needed repairs are mostly structural, including replacing expansion joints where separate structures of the stands come together.

“In those expansion joints, they put a rubber material that allows them to flow with the structure,” he said. “If there’s too much water, when it freezes, the ice expands and causes the concrete to break.”

The traffic coating on top of the stands also has worn off, Ianni said.

“That’s another level of protection,” he said. “It’s a water-proof material, which also is resistant to UV rays, so the elements don’t break down the concrete.”

The $2 million budget to upgrade the stadium is not unusual, Atkinson said. The athletic department spent more than a million in repairs to the stadium each of the last couple of years, and higher costs this year are due to a greater number of needed repairs, he said.

Ianni said the repairs to the east upper stands will complete a six-year structural restoration project.

Renovations, while not in the immediate future, are something the athletic department said it’s considering.

“We’d love to have several upgrades to the stadium in the coming years,” Atkinson said. “But I don’t see it in the near future and especially not next year.”

Ianni said the department has a long-range plan for the stadium.

“We’re going to start to look at some other enhancements, starting first with the restroom situation,” Ianni said.

Ianni said the bathrooms not only need upgrades, but also he’d prefer to see an increase in the number of bathrooms as well.

History senior Riley Markey said he didn’t see a specific problem with the restrooms in either quality or quantity.

“They’re as gross as any other stadium, really,” Markey said. “They’re just a place with a trough to pee, but any improvements to the bathrooms are a good thing. It’s just more hygienic.”

Ianni said improving the game experience for the fans is a responsibility of the department.

“It’s a customer service amenity,” he said.