The natural target date for the expansion of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium has always been September 2019 when the University of Louisville and Notre Dame football team are scheduled to collide at PJCS.

Count on UofL making that happen, possibly a year sooner.Screenshot 2016-04-15 09.39.05

Vice President of Athletics Tom Jurich said Thursday that UofL has raised approximately $20 million. That’s $12 million more than was announced on Feb. 4, when UofL announced that $8 million had been pledged. That included corporate sponsorships of $5 million from Pepsi and $3 million from Planet Fitness.

Now comes the grind, shaking the bushes for the additional $30 million to make the expansion of the stadium a reality. Tom, along with his son Mark, who heads up the fund raising effort, are confident the project will happen. They indicated that expansion was likely to begin when they have raised at least half of the money.

UofL has commitments for all 12 of the premium boxes and about half of the 70 exclusive club level suites.

They indicated that the project was inevitable when they had raised at least of the money. Construction could possibly begin at the end of the 2016 season and be completed in time for the 2018 season.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.