Kyle Field at Texas A&M

AMERIMIX AND JEWELL, AN OLDCASTLE COMPANY, PARTNER TO REDEVELOP THE LARGEST STADIUM IN THE SEC AND TEXAS

Amerimix and Jewell were both proud to work on one of the most high-profile projects in the companies’ recent history, the $450-million redevelopment of Texas A&M’s football stadium, Kyle Field. “It is literally … the spiritual home of the 12th Man,” A&M chancellor John Sharp said in reference to the Aggies’ student body, which stands the entire game to show their support for the eleven men on the playing field. With the renovation, Kyle Field’s final capacity is 102,733, making it the biggest college stadium in both Texas and the SEC.

The Story

The project was started after the last home game in December 2013 and was completed in two phases: phase one, the east/student side; and phase two, main side/parent side. Phase two called for a demolition of the original stadium construction.

Jewell provided over 400,000 blocks including TRENDSTONE PLUS, which is a filled and polished ground face masonry unit that has the look of a smooth terrazzo finish. The product offers one-step installation, maintenance-free finish and an easy-to-clean surface. In addition to TRENDSTONE PLUS, brick was another important design element of Kyle Field.

Amerimix Preblended Core Fill Grout was used throughout the entire project along with a variety of Amerimix custom colored mortar that provides long lasting, uniform color throughout the depth of the mortar joints. Numerous colors were custom designed specifically for the hues of Kyle Field. Three masonry companies utilized the grout and mortar products to complete the project under the watchful eye of Texas A&M officials who needed the stadium ready for the Aggie’s opening game of the 2015 season against Ball State. For all three masons, throughout the project, the Amerimix color and product quality remained consistent. “This was an extremely high-volume and high-profile job, and Amerimix and Jewell provided us numerous advantages,” stated Camarata Masonry project manager, Rene Lazono. “They offered us a full product line, so we could get everything from a single source, which meant a streamlined job and one company standing behind all the products.”

In addition, Amerimix mortar and grout is preblended eliminating the need for onsite blending. This was beneficial two-fold on the project. All the guesswork was removed for the three masonry companies working to install the brick and blocks. There was also no need for sand piles, which led to a cleaner, environmentally sound work site in a very compact area. Amerimix utilized eight mobile silos, which added to the project’s efficiency.

“Amerimix products provided a huge advantage on this job was the,” said Lazono. “They’re always consistent and you just add water and go, which was very important when dealing with such an aggressive timeline. There was literally no room for error.”

Even with the preblended product, the masons still left nothing to chance testing the grout and mortar two times everyday to ensure quality, precision and strength.

“This is an iconic venue that will be experienced not only by fans on-site, but also viewed on national television,” stated Chris Cox of DMG Masonry. “The university was very specific about how they wanted it to look, which is why we were so meticulous in the testing. We needed precision and consistency every day and Amerimix didn’t let us down.”

Kyle Field goes down in the books as one of the larger Amerimix jobs in the United States, with close to 3,200 Amerimix super sacks or approximately 9.6 million pounds of Amerimix materials used.