Former Nike exec's donation spurs Romney Stadium renovation


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LOGAN — With Utah State football hard at work preparing for its fourth-straight bowl game, the Aggies’ future on the field can rest a little easier thanks to former Nike president Charlie Denson, a 1978 alumnus and two-year letter-winner with the Aggies.

Denson and his wife, Trina, have donated $1 million for renovations to Romney Stadium, the school’s athletic department announced Tuesday. The renovations will include $750,000 for a four-story premium seating and press box structure in the west stands, including 24 luxury suites, 24 loge boxes and more than 700 covered club seats with a premium club area to host a student-athlete training table.

“For me, it was football and the athletic department that got me to Utah State,” Denson said in a statement. “It was certainly my experiences both on the playing field as well as in the classroom, graduating from the school of business, that enabled me to pursue a career in my two passions, which were business and sports.”

The chairman of Teneo Sports also included a $250,000 donation to the Huntsman School of Business, which will be used to name the Charlie and Trina Denson Classroom in Huntsman Hall.

“I am fortunate to be able to give back to the institution that was such an important part of my success,” Denson added, “and I look forward to the future as Utah State continues to be recognized for its contribution to higher education.”

Renovations will also include two new video boards in the stadium, one each on the north and south ends, and a new public address system. Utah State will also consider adding additional seats in future expansions.

Since the structure was built in 1968, Romney Stadium has seen few upgrades. The school added 10,000 seats in 1980, and another 4,000 chair-back seats in 1997, to increase the capacity to 25,513. Those renovations were followed by improvements to the south end zone in 2005, primarily with concessions and restroom areas, and then the three-story Jim and Carol Laub Athletics-Academics Complex in 1998.

“Charlie has been a great friend to our university and athletic program,” Utah State Athletic Director Scott Barnes said. “His efforts at Nike in leading our rebranding initiative was a huge step for our entire athletic enterprise. The launching of the Romney Stadium renovation is the largest undertaking in the history of Aggie athletics, so Charlie and Trina’s commitments come at an important time. The fact that Charlie wore the Aggie blue and white as a former football student-athlete makes this commitment especially gratifying.”

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