Culture

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080713/SPORTS030104/807130337/1097/SPORTS HATTIESBURG — The first game is scheduled for Aug. 30, but Southern Miss officials hope to have enough construction finished for tenants to get a look at the M.M. Roberts south end zone expansion project on Aug. 23. Advertisement "Everybody is committed to making that happen," said Joel Lucero, major projects coordinator for the USM physical plant. "We're told there is no exception for not getting it done." A total of 34 luxury suites are included in the $31.5 million project, with two set aside for USM president Martha Saunders and athletic director Richard Giannini. The rest of the boxes have been leased to local companies and financial supporters of the athletic department. The suites come in three different sizes with the majority of them holding seating for 28. All of the boxes feature room for 10 or more seats inside, while chairback seating outside varies from 18 to 24 or 32. # The 18-seat suites are leased at $26,000 a year. # Suites with 24 outside chairs go for $28,000. # Luxury boxes with the largest number of outside seating of 32 are $31,000 a year. Five-, seven- and 10-year leases were sold for the luxury boxes while three-, five- and seven-year deals apply to club level seating. Tenants will pay the lease on a yearly basis. Four times a year, the luxury boxes will be available for the tenants to use outside the football season. The outside facade of the expansion is basically complete, with only the windows left to put in place. The majority of the work remaining is internal with the finishing of walls, doors and putting down the carpet. clarionledger 7/13/08