When University of Wisconsin football fans walk into Camp Randall Stadium from Breese Terrace next season, they will be welcomed by something they have not experienced in recent years: space.

In the hopes of relieving overcrowding on the west concourse of Camp Randall, the UW System Board of Regents approved $350,000 in funding earlier this month to further renovate the stadium.

The project includes an overall expansion of the west concourse, the addition of cross aisles to allow fans seated on the west side to use restrooms and concessions on the north and south ends of the stadium, and a new restroom entrance outside section J.

Restrooms will also be added outside the third level of Section T, as well as air conditioning for the stadium operations center, which houses a large amount of audiovisual equipment.

According to Associate Athletic Director Vince Sweeney, the plans come as a result of heavy traffic in the west concourse, the side of the stadium that borders Breese Terrace, during the past two seasons, especially during pre-game and halftime periods.

"Adjustments needed to be made on the left side to increase the crowd flow and improve the access on the west side," Sweeney said.

Sweeney added the Camp Randall renovations would begin after the Badgers' annual spring game in April and would be completed in August, in time for the team's home opener Sept. 9 against Western Illinois.

The project is part of a nearly $110 million Camp Randall Stadium expansion and renovation project that began four years ago. The most recent renovations included new luxury suites on the east side of the stadium, a new score board on the north end and additional seating at the south end.

The $350,000 needed to fund the most recent expansion project will be funded through gift funds, which are raised through private donations as opposed to state tax dollars.

Though the regents passed the west concourse expansion project unanimously, the proposal did meet some criticism during the March 10 meeting.

"For fear that … I'm sounding like one of those popes questioning Michelangelo on the completion of the Sistine Chapel, with regards to Camp Randall, will it ever be done?" Regent Gerard Randall asked. "They came in with a request for $100 million, we were to stay under that. We've significantly surpassed that and [now] we're being nickel and dimed with yearly requests to do something major with regards to renovation."

However, Sweeney said, improving Camp Randall is a constant "work in progress," and added that future "fine tuning" to improve the stadium will always be a possibility.

"I'm not going to rule out anything," Sweeney said.

In the meantime, the most recently approved renovations received the support of the regents, largely because they will be funded entirely through gifts.

"Any of you that have attended any of the games last fall are aware of the congestion that developed on the west side of the stadium," Regent Jesus Salas said. "And this resolution requests authority to use gift funds to remediate that problem."

— Mike Gendall contributed to this report.