Owen Field Question

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.

 

85 I think

 

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 ***?

 

i would think the extra noise would be better

 

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!

 

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

 

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.

 

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).

 

whoa there, pilgrim.

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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?

 

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

 

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.

 

LOL!!

 

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?

 

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.

 

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.

 

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)