Blaming the many rainy days of March and April, UC Davis officials announced this week that construction delays are likely to push back the opening of the multiuse stadium until early 2007.

At the same time, Athletics Director Greg Warzecka had some good news for Aggie fans: UC Davis will play an NCAA Division I-A team for the second straight year when the Aggies visit Texas Christian University in Fort Worth on Sept. 9.

The nearly $30 million stadium project — approved by students during the Facilities and Campus Enhancement (FACE) Initiative in 1999 — has been under construction since last summer. It will serve as the home field for both UC Davis football and women's lacrosse.

University officials had been hoping to play at least a portion of the upcoming 2006 Aggie football season in the stadium, but will now focus their efforts on completing the facility as quickly as possible with an anticipated opening during early 2007. Officials confirmed that the upcoming football season will be played at Toomey Field, which has been the home for the UC Davis football team since 1949.

"Northern California is experiencing a record amount of rainfall and it has impacted construction of not only our project, but construction projects throughout the region," Warzecka said. "We knew the one variable out of our control with the construction of the stadium was the weather. Unfortunately, it has delayed progress much more than anyone anticipated."

Construction crews lost 19 working days to persistent rain during the month of March, more than double the number of "rain days" anticipated during planning. The number of lost working days for April has already exceeded what was planned for that month, too. In all, UC Davis officials estimate that the wet weather had resulted in approximately 25 lost construction days through April 27.

"We're anxious to move forward and resume construction at a pace that good weather allows," said Warzecka. "Unfortunately, the ground is so saturated that it's just going to be a slow process to get that momentum going again."

The below-ground multiuse stadium, which officials anticipate holding approximately 12,000 fans during its initial phase, has already been dug and some concrete for the facility poured. Additionally, much of the below-ground infrastructure has been installed. However, construction has been halted much of the past two months.

"The multiuse stadium will not only be the home for our football and lacrosse teams but will also host several other local and regional events," said Warzecka. "While we're disappointed in not being able to use it as early as we had hoped, we're excited about its future."

On the upcoming football season, Warzecka noted that the game against TCU is one of four games against first-time opponents. The others are a road game at Youngstown (Ohio) State (Sept. 23) and home match-ups against Central Arkansas (Oct. 14) and the University of San Diego (Nov. 25).

Warzecka noted the Aggies' 10-game schedule was still being finalized and there are likely to be more changes in the near future as UC Davis tries to fill three open dates. Last season, the Aggie football team notched its 36th consecutive winning season with a 6-5 record, highlighted by a 20-17 upset of Stanford University.

For more information on the Aggies football schedule, go to http://www.ucdavisaggies.com.