Is this a true representation of what the stadium will look like? I saw it on one of the coaches tweets
Is this a true representation of what the stadium will look like? I saw it on one of the coaches tweets
Pic
Supposedly, this site (newspaper?) has seen the proposed changes: Never heard of this site, so thanks to The Football Brainiacs for the heads up
When this whole thing first got announced (was rumored), I was hearing the expenditure was around $250M-$300M. If the article I linked to is legitimate, the actual cost is closer to $350M-$400M. That's a ton of money. With that kind of money, an entire new stadium could be built. I realize that there is more to this than just the stadium expansion, but damn...that's a lot of money. I'm excited.
I don't believe there will be 8 to 10 thousand more seats in OMS. I'd guess about 2,000 would be max. I think most of that will come from new press box and a couple of levels of suites running from endzone to endzone on the west side. When they start replacing bench seating with chairback seating, that will reduce capacity pretty quickly. So, I'll guess probably a net gain of 2,000 to 3,000 seats. Also, LNC renovation could be included in this total cost, with LNC renovations of up to maybe $100M. Also, if they add an entrance on the south side, that must mean they are moving the the whole coaches offices and weight room to another facility. I don't see how they could have a grand entrance on the south and weave all that into the coaching office/weight room complex.Originally Posted by 8timechamps
I'm sure ready to find out what they will be doing though!
Boyd Street is a local campus magazine.
I know the early speculation was that the upgrades would add a small amount of seating, but after reading the report I linked, it sounds like the kind of expansion they would be doing would add closer to 10k.
I just don't see any way the south end gets bowled without adding at least 8-10k additional seats.
I believe the new Baylor stadium was around $250M total, so even if only $200M-$250M went only to the stadium, that's quite the upgrade.
Yes, the bowling in of south endzone would bring more seats than that but if they are going to be replacing benches with chairbacks, that will reduce a lot of the gain. And I kinda see hints that the corners may not all be just seating as there might be suites/loges/etc so that would not be as much expansion either. I'm thinking we may end up in range of upper 80's (maybe 90) for final seating capacity but when you add all people on the field, stadium support staff/concessions/workers, total attendance will firmly be in low 90's, which is fine by me. I'll be surprised if net seating capacity gain is 8 to 10K. I just do not see the youth of today having as great an interest in collegiate sports as we did when I grew up so at some point down the line, we may start to see a decrease in attendance (all colleges/universities) and TV viewers. Will probably be 10-20 years down the line but the way things are now, I can see this happening. I also think all the talk of adding beer/alcohol sales now is another enticement. Not sure I want that to happen. When after a whole day of tailgating/drinking and then going to game and drinking more, that's just a recipe for lots of problems. I think David Boren/Joe Castiglione understand that and are trying to make the stadium/amenities nicer for the fans and thus entice them to attend with comforts and technological upgrades. Just anxious to see what they have planned!
I agree with no drinking in the stadium for the reasons given above. Interesting point you made about future attendance at football games. I never thought about it but attendance will likely drop because of the passing away of the Baby Boomer generation. Sadly, that includes me. The Boomers are 54-68 years of age and represent a huge segment of the total nation's population.
Good point, the chairbacks would certainly offset any major gain in seating.
I don't know if the younger generation will be as interested, or not. My boys (ages 15 & 19) are both big fans, and neither is from Oklahoma (obviously raised in an OU household). However, I don't see their friends with the same interest in college football. They have some friends that are big college football fans, but the majority aren't. That may have more to do with where we live though. Professional sports rule this state. It will certainly be something to watch (the up and coming fans).
I'm just gauging this on when I was in school in 76-81, we had about 18,000 student season tickets. Now, we have about 6,000 student season tickets and some games a lot of them stay home. Enrollment now is about 31,000 versus 21,000 then (includes all 3 campuses). Even Alabama was complaining about student attendance just this year. If you have student attendance at Alabama after their last 4 or 5 year run, then something is wrong. We can only get a few hundred students at basketball games and they've tried about every trick in the book, including free tickets (refund after perfect attendance!) so, it's not an OU problem IMO. I see lots of non-full arenas in basketball especially and there have been articles mentioning this as a problem too. There are a few exceptions but I think overall it's a trend in collegiate athletics unfortunately. OU, academically and athletically, are really at the apex in the history of this university in terms of being successful so you'd think that all that success would generate interest/attendance in the many successful athletic programs we have, especially football, but I don't see that as much. I think with the advent of computers/smart phones/tablets and wifi access almost everywhere, it's just too easy to watch on your electronic device (and also large screen TVs in high definition) and stay home or have a party at home with a host of friends. Hopefully, this trend will stop and the demand to attend these events will return to the youth.
About 3 or 4 months ago, I read an article about the overall decline in college sports attendance. I think there was even a small thread about it here (but that may have been elsewhere). Anyway, it said that college game attendance had seen a steady drop-off in recent years. Obviously, the big programs continue to fill their stadiums, but student attendance was one of the discussion points. And like you said, OU's student attendance has certainly dropped off.
There's no question that TV has a big part in that. I'm a little younger than you, but when I was growing up there was typically one (maybe two) televised games a week. If you were lucky, OU would be one of those. Nowadays, you can watch just about every team, every week on TV. Like you said, it's just become too easy.
I still don't understand the student thing though. I didn't miss a game, and wouldn't now either (if I had the chance). That could certainly be attributed to decreasing interest too, but probably TV.
Costs of everything, including being a student, have gone up. When my brother first arrived on campus in 1998 I think, they were selling student tickets for $50 total. Concessions were probably a bit easier on the wallet as well, in addition to parking and other gameday fare.
I think there's a certain level of apathy to factor in, but maybe OU and other universities are losing a generation by pricing them out. At least the students haven't given up on attending college period, even if they've given up on attending games
btw, regents agenda here in pdf format. Will discuss Weds. Here's the text of the stadium proposal:
In a nutshell, no specifics, just starting the planning phaseAGENDA ITEM
4
5
ISSUE:
GAYLORD FAMILY
-
OKLAHOMA MEMORIAL STADIUM
MASTER PLAN UPDATE
–
NC
ACTION PROPOSED:
President
Boren recommends the Board of Regents:
I.
Include the Gaylord Family
–
Oklahoma Memorial Master Plan updates
developed to date on the Campus Master Plan of Capital Improvements Projects
and approve
the
further development of
projects consistent with the Gay
lord
Family
-
Oklahoma Memorial Stadium master planning process
;
and
II.
Authorize the University administration to negotiate the terms of an agreement
for
full architectural services with Populous, Inc., the master plan architect, for the
further design and
development of stadium projects consistent with the Master
Plan updates, which projects will be subject to additional approval of the Board of
Regents.
BACKGROUND AND/OR RATIONALE:
At the October 2013 meeting, the Board of Regents was presented with
information
concerning upcoming activities to review and update the Gaylord Family
-
Oklahoma Memorial
Stadium (GFOMS) Master Plan, consistent with the phased approach for development and
improvements to the stadium. Utilizing the professional expertise and
services of Populous, Inc.
of Kansas City, operational, structural, team use, recruiting, and fan experience aspects of the
GFOMS have been carefully reviewed to develop a long
-
term strategic plan for the ongoing
success of the venue. Development of such
a long term strategic plan is a process that requires
continuous review and refinement as elements of the plan are implemented; needs of the facility,
student athletes, and patrons evolve; and industry standards and technology progress.
To date, certain
significant student athlete, team, operational and stadium
improvement projects have been identified that will combine new state of the art features and
elements to create
an enhanced
experience for OU’s athletic teams, students, student-athletes, alumni, fans, and visitors. In addition, existing space located in the stadium’s north end zone
will be renovated to house academic
aspects of the University.
The conceptual project elements identified to date and initially outlined as part of the GFOMS Master Plan update process will be presented to the Board. With the Board’s approval,
the GFOMS Master Plan updates will be included and placed on the
University’s
Campus Master
Plan of Capital Projects
.
Elements other than those initially detailed may continue to develop
consistent with the master plan process and facility requirements.
Additionally, with approval of this agenda item, University administration will
proceed with Populous to develop the project(s) presented. Such projects will be presented
to the
Board consistent with Board policy and require specific approval of the Board, including the
identification and availability of funding for any such project.
It is anticipated that the Board will be presented with a recommendation at the
September 2014 meeting for selection of a construction management firm to provide at risk
construction management services for the development and implementation of projects
consistent with the Master Plan updates.
Funding for architectural services and further project development have been
identified and are available from Athletics Department capital funds.
Amazing! More than I expected!
http://gfoms.com/
Pants explosion
Sometimes I think I drink alot, then I see, like, the Motley Crüe behind the music, and realize I'm a huge *****.
^ is right!
"I'm going to request that you stop posting in this thread." - circa 2008
"Why does there have to be so much immature stuff on here?" - circa 2010
Is that a complete rebuild of the west upper deck?
Stoops is now set to earn over $5 million. Heupel boosted to $600,000. Castiglione to top a million bucks.
Tuition goes up 4.8 percent.
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