Game on: A state financing panel today gave the final approval needed for LSU to begin a planned expansion to Tiger Stadium that will add new seats to the stadium’s south end zone. The Bond Commission gave quick passage without objection to a $75 million borrowing plan for the expansion that will push Tiger Stadium’s capacity to nearly 100,000 people, making it among the largest university stadiums in the SEC. LSU has said construction will begin this fall, with completion scheduled for the summer of 2014. For more details on the bond repayment plan and other projects it will help fund, read the full story here.
All in stride: Former LSU Tiger and U.S. Olympian Lolo Jones is one of just three members of Team USA getting their own cover of Time magazine on July 30. Along with Jones, U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte and gymnast Gabby Douglas each have a cover. It’s rare for Time to publish several variations of its cover. You can read the story on Jones in Time, called “Lolo’s No Choke,” here. Meanwhile, The New York Times has put together an infographic and video on what makes Jones so good at hurdles. Check it out here. And if you who want to wish Jones good luck before she heads to London for the 2012 games next week, she’ll be speaking at Healing Place Church, 19202 Highland Road, on Sunday at 9 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. The public is invited.
The road it may be rocky: LSU has been picked to win the SEC West division in the upcoming season, as well as its second straight SEC championship. The Tigers got the nod in the Western Division over Alabama, the team that blanked LSU 21-0 in the BCS championship game in January. Arkansas was picked to finish third in the West, followed by Auburn, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Mississippi in a vote by the 222 media members attending the league’s media days. Georgia was picked to win the Eastern Division, followed by South Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
