Five years ago, the idea of a football program at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was born. Now, the UTRGV Vaqueros are investing heavily in multimillion-dollar projects that will transform a stadium with big dreams into the next Texas football powerhouse.
In August, the university completed a new project, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, to replace the concourse paving and to increase seating capacity across more than 29,000 square feet at Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium in Edinburg, improving safety, longevity, and fan foot traffic. Originally opened in 2017 as H-E-B Park, the stadium upgrades are part of a broader effort to build a football product for fans in the Rio Grande Valley, which has long lacked a high-level game-day experience.
The renovation project began in April, with a projected cost of more than $8 million and an estimated completion date in January 2027. However construction finished early, ahead of the start of the 2026 season. The net result is nearly 13,500 seats, up from 12,000, by adding 1,500 seats in the south end zone. The Vaqueros student section will now be entirely in the south end zone, bringing total capacity to 3,250.
"You talk about expansion, one of the reasons why we knew we needed to do something quickly before year two is we still had 12,000 plus on our season ticket wait list," said UTRGV athletic director Chasse Conque. "The community has rallied around this program at a level that has really surpassed probably all expectations, but the game day experience is special."
The needed expansion and upgrades come as the Vaqueros have now sold out 10 consecutive home games, including all seven in their inaugural 2025 season. Last season, the university reported that the football program finished No. 11 in FCS in total attendance (87,774), No. 15 in average attendance (12,539) and No. 6 in attendance capacity (104.5 percent).
All those sellouts and demand in year one have created a new question.
"When you have 12,000 plus on your wait list," Conque pondered. "It certainly begs the question of could we have used a little bit bigger stadium?"
Fans have backed Conque's belief in Vaqueros football by showing up in the stands. Now the university is investing in the spaces and places where its support base comes together. Conque believes players from across the state and the country who visit UTRGV on recruiting trips are being swayed as well.
"Once you get them on campus and they get to see the facilities, I think they probably all at this point still feel like it's a hidden gem," Conque said. "I don't think it's going to be a secret much more and it's probably not at this point with the exposure that our program's getting."
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This article originally published at UTRGV can't stop selling out football games. Is its stadium big enough?.