$22.9 million stadium expansion approved for Coastal Carolina University

The State Fiscal Accountability Authority approved a $22.9 million expansion for Brooks Stadium at Coastal Carolina University Tuesday morning.

"I can tell you that the bonds were issued to enlarge and renovate Brooks Stadium on the university's campus. And those renovations as we understand it are necessary for the expansion as they have entered into the Sun Belt Conference there at the university," said Delbert Singleton, secretary for the SFAA. "The authority approved a revenue bond for Brooks Stadium at Coastal Carolina University in the amount of $22.9 million."

Singleton said the university approached the authority at least a few months ago about the bond approval for the stadium expansion.

"We've been working with them for a while to try and get this before the authority and have the authority to act on it," said Singleton.

This comes after the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education denied the proposal for the expansion in May.

CCU fan, Randy Akers, started a petition shortly after the denial in May.

He said hearing the news about the approval is "fantastic."

"This is not only going to bring jobs to the area, it's going to bring fans into the area who are going to help pay for those jobs," said Akers.

Singleton said it was a 4-1 vote for the expansion project, with Governor Nikki Haley voting against it.

Haley expressed her support of the Commission on Higher Education's earlier decision and criticized the State Fiscal Accountability Authority's actions on Twitter Tuesday evening:

CCU President David DeCenzo, who is out of the office today, released a statement about the authority's approval, stating:

"The University is pleased with the outcome today at SFAA. With this final approval, we will now embark on the stadium expansion project," said DeCenzo.