Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium South End Zone Addition

Challenge

Building the South End Zone Addition at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium at the University of Texas required careful planning and teamwork. Construction began in spring 2019 and continued through the 2019 and 2020 football seasons. Because the stadium and campus remained open during this time, the project had to ensure that key areas—such as training rooms, locker rooms, and medical spaces—remained fully functional throughout the work.

Solution

Hensel Phelps worked closely with the University of Texas athletic department to reduce disruptions and plan around football season activities. The team set up important no-work or limited-work days with athletics staff to avoid interfering with practices and events. For example, when the football team practiced on the field, Hensel Phelps adjusted noisy construction tasks to fit the team’s schedule.

Major parts of the project were completed before each season, allowing new seating areas to be used during games. As game days drew closer, the team partnered with stadium operations to prepare for buses, supplies, and crowd needs—ensuring everything ran smoothly before, during, and after each game.

To avoid surprises, Hensel Phelps also held “good neighbor” meetings with other university departments to adjust the schedule when needed. Before every home game, the team conducted safety checks with fire marshals and stadium security to ensure that construction didn’t affect game-day operations.

During each game, the Hensel Phelps “Game Day Team” stayed on-site to check for safety issues, monitor traffic flow, put up signs, and ensure that life safety systems were working properly.

During the 2020 football season, the University of Texas held five home games while construction continued on the stadium’s south end zone addition. Hensel Phelps created and carried out safety plans to manage the 150,000 fans entering the site on game days. These plans included installing fencing to guide foot traffic, adding guardrails, and constructing temporary walkways using concrete and asphalt. Hensel Phelps collaborated with the University of Texas Athletics Department to install signs, monitors, and information kiosks along each path, beginning two hours prior to kickoff and concluding one hour after each game.

Results

The South End Zone Addition was finished on time for the 2021 football season. There were no safety incidents and no delays to football operations. The University of Texas System presented Hensel Phelps with both the Gold and Silver Safety Through Exemplary Performance (STEP) Awards for its strong safety practices.