The University of Nevada athletics department has received approval from the state's Board of Regents to proceed on an $11.5 million plan to renovate Mackay Stadium.

Initial plans for the renovation include additional restrooms, new stadium club and loge seating and the addition of chairback seating in seven sections to increase the fan gameday experience. The plans also call for new ADA accessible seating areas and the widening of aisles with the installation of handrails to increase safety at the stadium.

Two NSHE (Nevada System of Higher Education) Board of Regents committees approved the proposal on Thursday and the full board gave the final go-ahead to the project on Friday. School officials will fine-tune the plans in the coming months and construction is expected to begin in December of 2015 to be ready for the start of the 2016 season.

"This is exciting news for our fans and the Northern Nevada community," athletics director Doug Knuth said. "These are necessary upgrades and additions to Mackay Stadium and the project centers around our fans and providing a great gameday experience when they come to support the Wolf Pack. We are grateful to President Marc Johnson, the senior leadership of the University and the NSHE Board for their support throughout the planning and approval process."

The project has been in the planning stages for nearly three years as athletics department officials have worked directly with fan focus groups and analyzing data collected in fan surveys. The new seating areas and amenities will result changes to seven seating area at the stadium - five on the west side and two on the east side - as chairbacks will replace bleacher seating. The east-side luxury suites will be expanded and the stadium will see the addition of approximately 200 stadium club seats and 26 loge boxes.

School officials plan to release final details of the project in February. Season ticketholders with questions about the project, or those interested in tickets, should contact the athletics department at (775) 348-PACK.