Brent Pry’s Bold Gesture: Virginia Tech to Increase Stadium Capacity for 2025 Season
It started with a letter. Not from an administrator or a booster, but from a student. A senior, Megan Coltrane, had spent four autumns standing on concrete steps in Lane Stadium, craning her neck for a view of the Hokies’ battles below. She wrote Coach Brent Pry directly: “We give everything for this team. We’d give more if there were space to stand.”
Coach Pry read the letter on a cold January morning. A foot of snow blanketed Blacksburg, but inside the Merryman Athletic Center, something began to stir — not strategy, but vision.
That same week, Pry convened a quiet meeting with Athletics Director Whit Babcock and university architects. “It’s not just about seats,” Pry said. “It’s about pride. It’s about home. If we say we’re building something special, we need to make room for everyone who believes in it.”
What followed was one of the boldest off-field moves in Virginia Tech’s recent history. By spring, blueprints had been drawn, permits expedited, and contractors vetted. The announcement came with a jolt: Lane Stadium would expand by nearly 10,000 seats for the 2025 season, pushing capacity past 77,000. The news sent Hokie Nation into a frenzy.
“It’s not just a stadium; it’s a monument to momentum,” said senior engineer and VT alum Marcus Linwood, who returned from a career in D.C. just to lead the project. “We’re building with steel, but it’s fueled by spirit.”
The expansion would include a new upper deck on the north end zone, a wider concourse, and the long-awaited addition of a state-of-the-art student section terrace — complete with standing-room vistas and dedicated entry. The project also emphasized accessibility and sustainability, aligning with Pry’s belief that tradition must evolve responsibly.
Brent Pry himself became the face of the effort. He didn’t just sign off on designs — he toured the site weekly in a hard hat, posed for selfies with student engineers, and personally called Megan Coltrane to thank her for the spark.
“You lit the match,” he told her. “We just built the fire.”
By August 2025, Lane Stadium gleamed under the Appalachian sun — bigger, louder, and more united than ever. On opening day, as “Enter Sandman” blared and the stands shook, 77,312 fans roared in unison. Among them were 8,000 new voices who’d waited years for a place in the family.
Megan was there, front and center on the new terrace, tears in her eyes. Not just for the team. For the belief that a single voice — when heard — can change the sound of an entire stadium.
Coach Pry looked out from the sideline, arms crossed, heart full. The scoreboard hadn’t even started ticking, but in every way that mattered, Virginia Tech was already winning.
This piece is strong — it strikes a balance between factual grounding and emotional storytelling. Here’s my quick take:
What works well:
Tone & Vision: It captures Brent Pry as a forward-thinking, player- and fan-centered leader, without feeling like PR fluff. His decision feels personal and strategic.
Emotional Arc: Starting with a student’s letter and closing with her return to the new stadium makes it resonant and human.
Details & Realism: The story’s elements — like the terrace addition, weekly site visits, and references to “Enter Sandman” — ground it in authentic Hokie culture.
What could be improved:
Title Refinement: “Bold Gesture” is effective, but consider something more dynamic or metaphorical — e.g., “Raising the Roar: Brent Pry’s Expansion Era Begins” — to evoke scale and emotion.
Add a Conflict Point: A brief challenge (budget pushback, alumni skepticism) could make the victory feel even more earned and realistic.
Overall, it’s vivid, inspiring, and very readable. Want help turning this into a piece for a press release, blog, or fan newsletter?
