Owen Field Question

[westcoast_sooner]

I was looking at the official Sooner Sports site for info on the capacity of Owen Field and it looks like it only holds 82,000 or so. I thought that OU was doing some additional renovations to increase capacity. UT's stadium now holds nearly 100K, and Bama's renovations that will be complete this year will increase their capacity to over 100K. So just curious for those closer to the situation than me what the situation is.

[rawlingsHOH]

85 I think

[SbOrOiNaEnR]

82,000 is official. ~ 85,000 is what they can cram in there. I had a security guard at the Switzer Center tell me a few years ago that they were about to start construction to close in the south end zone, but it was clear he fell into the "crazy old coot" category.

Plus, I've always thought that the coaching staff didn't want to close the south end zone because the wind whipping through there gives us a little bit of advantage. Is that true, or am I just talking out of my ***?

[yermom]

i would think the extra noise would be better

[Boomer38Sooner]

I think that if they bowled off the south end it would be awesome. They could do that and add an upper deck on the north end and we would be in business!

[westcoast_sooner]

Even the Wikipedia site doesn't say anything about additional capacity being added.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaylord_Family_Oklahoma_Memorial_Stadium

[AlbqSooner]

Problem with closing the South endzone is the air circulation. Afternoon game in September with the temp at 100 and nary a breeze stirring in the stadium is unimaginable.

[oudavid1]

I dont want the south end bowled in, it wouldnt look good and the south end under the scoreboard is not proportional to the east and west stands, what i do want is an extension of the east upper deck all they way around and over the north video screen (which sucks and needs to be bigger) and leave a gap between the decks (like texas did).

[GKeeper316]

Problem with closing the South endzone is the air circulation. Afternoon game in September with the temp at 100 and nary a breeze stirring in the stadium is unimaginable.

whoa there, pilgrim.

i happen to like the stadium when its hot... all the girls seem to start removing items of clothing :P

[KYSooner]

Plus, I've always thought that the coaching staff didn't want to close the south end zone because the wind whipping through there gives us a little bit of advantage. Is that true, or am I just talking out of my ***?

That's our little brother that likes the prarie wind against their skin. Sooners can play ball in a tornado and perform just fine.

[jkjsooner]

Problem with closing the South endzone is the air circulation. Afternoon game in September with the temp at 100 and nary a breeze stirring in the stadium is unimaginable.


The SEC teams seem to do just fine with completely closed stadiums.

I don't think they'll bowl it in because they don't want to spend the money adding crappy seats.

[ndpruitt03]

Yeah Castiglione gives that excuse about the heat and something else about the angles or something which is another weird excuse to me. Unless it's a warm year you only have to worry about the heat the first 4 or maybe 5 home games. But I don't really buy any of the excuses. I bet it could be done and we could fit around 90-95k. Didn't someone doctor a picture to close the stadium around a few years ago?

[OUHOMER]

I agree with keeping it open, And yes I am grateful for a small breeze during the hot months.

[Soonerfan88]

Adding seats in either end zone will not provide enough return on investment to pay for the construction costs. And the number of tickets available on the street show that there is not enough demand for any stadium expansion.

[Leroy Lizard]

That's our little brother that likes the prarie wind against their skin. Sooners can play ball in a tornado and perform just fine.

LOL!!

[BoomerSoonerGoOU]

Problem with closing the South endzone is the air circulation. Afternoon game in September with the temp at 100 and nary a breeze stirring in the stadium is unimaginable.

Meh, all the big football schools in the SEC have bowled in stadiums, and they manage just fine. It already gets to 120 degrees on the field in September, what's a couple degrees more?

[soonerborn30]

Everything I've ever been told by people that might know say it's likely to be the South EZ, and that it's supposed to be in the next couple years. You won't find anything official about it online anywhere. Believe me, I've looked.

:(

[47straight]

I like the view of the rest of campus through the gaps. Honestly, places like the rennovated Cotton Bowl make it feel confined. Feels less like football.

I got nuthin.

[soonerboomer93]

I thought the angle on the south end zone seating wouldn't allow it to flow very well in a bowl. It'd almost be easier to rip them down and rebuild (except the new sb and switzer center)

[Boomerbrad]

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5049/bowledowenfield.jpg

[Fraggle145]

Id rather see an upper deck on the North endzone first.

[w0lfe]

Id rather see an upper deck on the North endzone first.
This

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Adding seats in either end zone will not provide enough return on investment to pay for the construction costs. And the number of tickets available on the street show that there is not enough demand for any stadium expansion.

100% correct. With Joe C. it is all about (rightfully) the economics, as in economic sustainability. Firstly, even if we had a fat-cat donor that wanted to pony the vast majority of it, tough times is no time for a public university to go shilling. Secondly, everyone should take note that there were a lot of empty seats in the home games following the Texas game. As great as our fan base is, it still isn't enough to overcome the apathy that follows a couple of 4 or 5 loss seasons.

If I were a betting man I'd bet this doesn't come up in discussion in any official capacity for at least another decade.

[humblesooner]

The way to make expansion work would be to add an upper deck on the North Endzone. When that is finished, take all the season ticket holders in the South Endzone and move them to the new North Endzone.
Then you would have to tear down the current South Endzone and rebuild it to match the rest of the stadium. You could do the lower bowl first and move the SEZ people back. Then if you still have a 20,000 waiting list, you could work on the SEZ Upper Deck.

[StoopTroup]

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5049/bowledowenfield.jpg

I like that.

[yankee]

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5049/bowledowenfield.jpg

i think i just creamed in my pants.
"i want my little bit of a breeze" should NEVER be an excuse for not expanding a stadium. that right there would be so legit.

[JLEW1818]

send this into soonersports.com

[oudavid1]

i think i just creamed in my pants.
"i want my little bit of a breeze" should NEVER be an excuse for not expanding a stadium. that right there would be so legit.

This is pretty cool, i wish i knew how you did it. But i agreed with the person who said earlier that the new cotton bowl makes you feel confined, i liked it the old way but it is cool to have 100+ thousand at the greatest game ever every October. But if we do add on, we need more clubs and suites, and how about a new pressbox, not to mention a way bigger video screen on north end. (texas has a bigger one, ewwww)

[cvsooner]

That would be very cool...so you'd see 'OU' from every flyover of the stadium, especially coming in from the north.

[SoonerFanInAustin]

the capacity would be ridiculous....

[JLEW1818]

yah, think how many people are waiting for season tickets...

[westcoast_sooner]

What I like is that it KINDA looks like an "OU" with that upper deck all the way around. What could be better than that?

I was thinking if the season ticket waiting list was really long, then why not invest in the expansion. Of course, would want it to make economic sense, but I like the pic. :)

[Boomerbrad]

Off-season...I was bored. View from the South endzone :D

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/2342/owen2l.jpg

Figure we'll need a bigger scoreboard on the north too! :D

[Sooner70]

Phil Steele's CFB 2009 lists Memorial Stadium official capacity of 82,112, but I was thinking for the TTech game in 2008 the attendance was over 85,000, but I may be wrong on that. Seems like the place was filled & bursting at the seams with people. Maybe lots of SRO attendees?

[oudavid1]

Phil Steele's CFB 2009 lists Memorial Stadium official capacity of 82,112, but I was thinking for the TTech game in 2008 the attendance was over 85,000, but I may be wrong on that. Seems like the place was filled & bursting at the seams with people. Maybe lots of SRO attendees?

Yes, the official is 82,112. It always has been. But we always get at least 85 everygame

[OU_Sooners75]

82,000 is official. ~ 85,000 is what they can cram in there. I had a security guard at the Switzer Center tell me a few years ago that they were about to start construction to close in the south end zone, but it was clear he fell into the "crazy old coot" category.

Plus, I've always thought that the coaching staff didn't want to close the south end zone because the wind whipping through there gives us a little bit of advantage. Is that true, or am I just talking out of my ***?


Most likely talking out your ***, as in it gives us an advantage.

I think that wind effects both teams.

[OU_Sooners75]

Problem with closing the South endzone is the air circulation. Afternoon game in September with the temp at 100 and nary a breeze stirring in the stadium is unimaginable.


It would only be worse if someone farted...man, think of the lingering affect then. :eek::O

[Sooner04]

I doubt we see expansion any time soon. They're having trouble filling up the east side upper deck right now as it is.

[StoopTroup]

I doubt we see expansion any time soon. They're having trouble filling up the east side upper deck right now as it is.

There is a reason for that too.

It's called $75.00 per ticket, requiring you to donate in certain places up there when there are lower seats that do not require donations and the fact that they don't supply oxygen or even offer it For Sale.

I believe at one time someone said that Joe C. was quoted as saying that if he had 11 more Skybox long term commitments that he would have kept the expansion going on the eastside headed around the North EZ all the way to the West Side.

If someone wanted to chime in on that...go ahead.

[soonerboy_odanorth]

the capacity would be ridiculous....

so would the number of empty seats.

[prrriiide]

The SEC teams seem to do just fine with completely closed stadiums.

I don't think they'll bowl it in because they don't want to spend the money adding crappy seats.

I've been in Neyland when it's over 90 and 90% humidity. It is miserable. Stifling. I would hate to see the S EZ of Owen closed in for exactly that reason. There has to be some air circulation or it is just flat out oppressive. With Oklahoma's heat, it would be a huge health hazard to both fans and athletes. It's why SEC games are traditionally played at night.

Also, re: the wind as an advantage...it isn't really an advantage or disadvantage because, with one notable exception **COUGH*aggy*COUGH**, all D-1 college fields that I know of run north and south.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

The SEC teams seem to do just fine with completely closed stadiums.

They also almost all play night games until October...

[soonerborn30]

We have a waiting list several years long, I don't see how filling the stadium would be an issue. Just because there aren't butts in the seats doesn't mean the tickets aren't selling. Somebody had to buy those tickets if there are scalpers selling them outside, right?

[Boomer38Sooner]

Off-season...I was bored. View from the South endzone :D

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/2342/owen2l.jpg

Figure we'll need a bigger scoreboard on the north too! :D

And I jizzed in my pants!!!!!

[DakotaSooner]

Daktronics could solve that small scoreboard problem.....just ask Texas

[jumperstop]

We have a waiting list several years long, I don't see how filling the stadium would be an issue. Just because there aren't butts in the seats doesn't mean the tickets aren't selling. Somebody had to buy those tickets if there are scalpers selling them outside, right?

Is the waiting list several years long? Is this a fact or are people just assuming. Although the stadium did sell out every game last season, sometimes I did have a concern that it might not. Even though I would like to see some expansion to compete with other schools like texas and bama, I honestly don't know if there is any need to upgrade the stadium. Lots of empty seats, especially if OU is up by at least two or three touchdowns at halftime, OU fans are like that for some reason.

[rawlingsHOH]

We have a waiting list several years long, I don't see how filling the stadium would be an issue. Just because there aren't butts in the seats doesn't mean the tickets aren't selling. Somebody had to buy those tickets if there are scalpers selling them outside, right?

Filling the stadium and selling the tickets are two different issues. I don't think there is a big enough demand on a weekly basis for expansion. Could they sell more tickets? No doubt. But I'd bet we'd still see a lot of empty seats. We already do, at times.

[illinisooner]

While expanding the south end zone would make the most sense from a purely aesthetically pleasing viewpoint, it's not the most practical. You'd have to move the Switzer Center, offices, the practice field would be a problem, etc. I've always thought that if you added a half deck and a few banks of luxury boxes to the north end zone, it'd work quite well (similar to the pic posted on this page, except imagine half of those are luxury suites). You'd increase seating capacity by probably about 10,000 or so and I doubt you'd have trouble getting commitments for a 10 or 15 suites. Or make it a club seating area instead of just suites.

So at this point you're looking at a seating capacity of just over 90,000 and we get more money from donors via the suites/club level. Expanding beyond 100,000 is just crazy, especially during these times. We can leave the south end zone as is...just filling in the corners to make it a complete lower bowl isn't cost effective, but it would look alot cooler. Doubt we see any expansion or renovations even talked about for at least 5 years though...if it does happen, I'll recommend my plan for the north end zone lol.

[TexasLidig8r]

UT's stadium now holds nearly 100K, .


Capacity is now in excess of 100K and all 6 home games this past year had crowds in excess of 100K..
http://grfx.cstv.com/schools/tex/graphics/fb_stadium_2008_800.jpg

[westcoast_sooner]

Thanks for correcting Lid.

IMO, though other schools in the Big 12 have much smaller stadiums, OU will need to do an expansion in the not too distant future. It's not that revenue to the athletic program is only coming from ticket sales, but to have 20,000 fewer seats at OU seems like it makes it more difficult to stay competitive over the long term.

I certainly won't suggest that stadium capacity is the only reason that one team is successful and another one isn't, I don't believe that for a second. But I do know that facilities help sway recruits.

[Leroy Lizard]

If I was a player, I would tell the nation "I'm playing for Southeastern Kentucky because playing in front of so many people is really scary."

[MamaMia]

Lid, where are the statues of all your Heisman trophy winners? :)

[MichiganSooner]

Problem with closing the South endzone is the air circulation. Afternoon game in September with the temp at 100 and nary a breeze stirring in the stadium is unimaginable.

Closing off the south end and messing with the air circulation could be our team's competitive advantage. The other team would be traveling across the country and be constantly told of the tremendous heat and humidity at Owen Field.

[TexasLidig8r]

Lid, where are the statues of all your Heisman trophy winners? :)

Earl's is on the southwest portion inside the stadium.

Ricky's is at the Pipe and Bong Shop on 6th Street.

Forgive me Lord.