Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Education

Central Florida's Swaying Stadium Gets Support

August 26, 2008 02:21 PM ET | Alison Go | Permanent Link | Print

Zombie Nation's song "Kernkraft 400" is about to cost the University of Central Florida about $400,000 in construction costs, the Central Florida Future reports. Students jumping and dancing in synchrony to the late-'90s techno hit was causing the school's brand-new, 45,000-person football stadium to sway at every game, earning the stadium the nicknames "The Trampoline" and "Bouncehouse."

The school, which will be responsible for about 25 percent of the cost, is now working to stiffen support beams in the stadium end zones by welding extra steel to the bottom of the beams and girders. By reducing the sway 50 percent, UCF hopes to improve "fan comfort" and ease the anxieties of the more sedate fans. Stadium officials say that the swaying is not a safety or structural concern.

If a Central Florida stadium malfunction story seems familiar, you might be thinking of last year's water shortage nightmare. During the stadium's first game ever, 18 students were hospitalized for heat exhaustion, in part because the structure had no water fountains. The school quickly installed fountains.

As for "Kernkraft": Students can rest assured that the song will still be played, albeit less frequently.

Tags: University of Central Florida | music

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Only UCF would build a stadium that sways and needs a half million to fix it after a year.

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About The Paper Trail

Being a college graduate and all, writer Alison Go is uniquely qualified to sift through thousands of student newspaper headlines every day to bring you the latest, most important, or just plain weirdest news from campuses across the country. Heard bigger news or a crazier story? Send tips to papertrail@usnews.com.

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