BATON ROUGE - Expect a whole new look at Southern University's A.W. Mumford Stadium when football season begins in a few weeks.

It is called the Tony Clayton Championship Plaza. It will be a new place to gather, and officials hope it will put some money in the university's pockets as well.

This new structure will highlight the best of SU student-athletes, both past and present, and its construction is being funded by alumni.

“It's really exciting number one because it's alums doing it and stepping up to the plate and making a difference,” said Alfred Harrell, CEO of the Southern University System Foundation. “We're engaging them in a real meaningful way and making sure that they can see the impact immediately."

Alumni will soon see the fruits of some of their donations, and it's beginning right outside A.W. Mumford Stadium and field house with Championship Plaza.

“That's what it's all about. I mean Southern took me, a rock out of the back door cane fields of Louisiana and polished me into a gem. So I owe her,” said Attorney Tony Clayton, who is the principal donor for the plaza.

With construction costs covered by private donors, the SU System Foundation said they expect the plaza to bring in around $2 million in revenue.

“It’ll be perpetually hundreds of thousands of dollars that we can get off this project that will go directly toward academics and athletics and just helping kids enhance their educational experiences at Southern,” said Clayton.

Construction has also started on the $4.4 million Valdry Center for Philanthropy, the first of its kind at any HBCU. And it has all been made possible by alumni donations.

Construction on the Championship Plaza is expected to be completed by August 15.

For information on purchasing bricks or columns at the plaza, you can visit the SU System Foundation website: https://foundation.sus.edu/