Time to expand Oklahoma Memorial Stadium?

[OKVision4U]

I believe the plan has always been to make the new press box the entire width of the west upper deck and add a bunch of suites in the process.

This would generate the most revenue but not all a lot of capacity.

... I like suites. A new press box will be great. We should have that, but not just that.

[BrettM2]

... I like suites. A new press box will be great. We should have that, but not just that.

You should take the CASH you are going to build that condo-tower and put it toward the stadium. That may prompt OU to do exactly what you want, when you want it.

Just because you (and a couple of other posters) think the time is NOW does not make it so. I have no connection to OU (went to OSU for grad work) but, from where I'm sitting, the OU leadership has done a damn fine job of making their school prosper. I'm going to trust their judgment over an anonymous poster.

[ou48A]

I believe the plan has always been to make the new press box the entire width of the west upper deck and add a bunch of suites in the process.

This would generate the most revenue but not all a lot of capacity.

That is the way I have understood it too.
However I wounder how much some of the previous plans might get tweaked with this new review?
1500 is the amount of the expansion that Joe C said

[ou48A]

Take a look at this Michigan half time video....
It would nice to have the lights like they have and a laser show too. If we could point enough lights skyward during a night game with a red coloring it would create a red sky that would look cool and it might be even be intimidating to opponents.

"Beyonce" - September 7, 2013 - The Michigan Marching Band - YouTube

[bluedogok]

Austin is mostly UT territory; however I give credit that there are a ton of alums from A & M in the emerging Austin area as well as Houston.

Austin is definitely changing much to the chagrin of the UT alumni. They still make up the majority of representation but it isn't what it once was there 20 years ago. There are a bunch of people from all over there, I knew more people with no UT connection than with. Seems to be a lot of SEC and Big 10 people there as well.

[OKVision4U]

You should take the CASH you are going to build that condo-tower and put it toward the stadium. That may prompt OU to do exactly what you want, when you want it.

Just because you (and a couple of other posters) think the time is NOW does not make it so. I have no connection to OU (went to OSU for grad work) but, from where I'm sitting, the OU leadership has done a damn fine job of making their school prosper. I'm going to trust their judgment over an anonymous poster.

....No, I'm still gonna build that tower.

Since you went to OSU, you may be a little out of the loop in Norman. Boren does listen to the "people" w/ a voice and take it into consideration, that's what he has done historically. I have no idea of the details he is looking for, but they are looking for input at this time.

If the South Endzone could be a very impressive FANZONE w/ restaurant & game experiences would be cool too.

[SoonerDave]

....No, I'm still gonna build that tower.

Since you went to OSU, you may be a little out of the loop in Norman. Boren does listen to the "people" w/ a voice and take it into consideration, that's what he has done historically. I have no idea of the details he is looking for, but they are looking for input at this time.

If the South Endzone could be a very impressive FANZONE w/ restaurant & game experiences would be cool too.

Not if they don't generate revenue. You can't just build statues. You've got to build something that makes money. You gain not one single seat of additional demand merely for the fact you "have cool video games in the S. Endzone." If your a lousy NFL franchise begging for seats, okay, maybe I'll go along with the idea that a video game spot might draw in a few dozen more folks, but surely for an entity with the insatiable demand that OU has doesn't need to resort to those kinds of gimmicks, does it?

Doesn't anyone just go to ballgames anymore?

[OKVision4U]

Not if they don't generate revenue. You can't just build statues. You've got to build something that makes money. You gain not one single seat of additional demand merely for the fact you "have cool video games in the S. Endzone." If your a lousy NFL franchise begging for seats, okay, maybe I'll go along with the idea that a video game spot might draw in a few dozen more folks, but surely for an entity with the insatiable demand that OU has doesn't need to resort to those kinds of gimmicks, does it?

Doesn't anyone just go to ballgames anymore?

I do just that. I watch every single play. But, that just me. I enjoy the entertainment value that the Gameday experience brings w/ it.

Others have said that we can't have 100K capacity for 100 different reasons that I may / or may not agree with, I'm for 100K. But, if we are not going to increase capacity , but the overall experience, then lets make this place a is a Beast to Play in / The Coolest on TV / & Incredibly Fan friendly. Hense, Fanzone on the South end w/ all the WOW for recruits. Give them an exclusive lounge for the gameday experience. I want the Best Steak in Oklahoma there to order & make that place smell like a Ruth Chris.

If we don't add too many new seats, then lets have the entire South Endzone a FanZone w/ different levels of additional suites for (less expensive renting for parties , etc ) and fill it w/ Last Minute Ticket Options, so if you find that you can't make on gameday, place your seats in this system to get used by others that may want to take their sons / daughters to a game for less money and still feeding that heart for OU. ...so new fans can enjoy watching the ponies pull that schooner as hard as they can. ( NOT cheesy, just the Best ).



Let's make it the loudest in college football.

[SoonerDave]

I do just that. I watch every single play. But, that just me. I enjoy the entertainment value that the Gameday experience brings w/ it.

Others have said that we can't have 100K capacity for 100 different reasons that I may / or may not agree with, I'm for 100K.

I'm all for supporting whatever capacity the demographics and market will allow. If that's 100K, great, but not 100K merely for the sake of saying we have 100K. When you don't get 100K there, the empty seats stick out like a sore thumb and make that gameday experience just a little...strange. And those recruits are saying, "man, this is a cool place, but look at those empty seats way up there..."

Point is you can't just throw money and chairs at the place. Every penny spent has to be spent intelligently, not merely because Texas or OSU or (whomever) is doing it. LIke I said before, I can't think of anyone better suited than Joe C. to oversee it.

Heck, I'd just like to see 'em make the big video board in the south endzone taller and go full HD

[OKVision4U]

I'm all for supporting whatever capacity the demographics and market will allow. If that's 100K, great, but not 100K merely for the sake of saying we have 100K. When you don't get 100K there, the empty seats stick out like a sore thumb and make that gameday experience just a little...strange. And those recruits are saying, "man, this is a cool place, but look at those empty seats way up there..."

Point is you can't just throw money and chairs at the place. Every penny spent has to be spent intelligently, not merely because Texas or OSU or (whomever) is doing it. LIke I said before, I can't think of anyone better suited than Joe C. to oversee it.

Heck, I'd just like to see 'em make the big video board in the south endzone taller and go full HD

a couple of losses early in the season has a greater impact on the ( butts in seats factor ) than market demographics. Winning has always been a cure-all for attendance.

[OKVision4U]

I'm all for supporting whatever capacity the demographics and market will allow. If that's 100K, great, but not 100K merely for the sake of saying we have 100K. When you don't get 100K there, the empty seats stick out like a sore thumb and make that gameday experience just a little...strange. And those recruits are saying, "man, this is a cool place, but look at those empty seats way up there..."

Point is you can't just throw money and chairs at the place. Every penny spent has to be spent intelligently, not merely because Texas or OSU or (whomever) is doing it. LIke I said before, I can't think of anyone better suited than Joe C. to oversee it.

Heck, I'd just like to see 'em make the big video board in the south endzone taller and go full HD

This has been a college football elite Facilities Arms race for 30 years. Do you think Texas / Texas A&M / OSU / Baylor / Tech are going to "slow down" on their recruiting effort? They are increasing their effort & it is having an affect on the 3/4 star athletes here in the Big 12 region. It's not a question of Do we want to spend it on Stadium Upgrades? ...it is required to spend that money, if you want to stay in the front of the Big 12 championship race and not the back of the pack.

[dankrutka]

This has been a college football elite Facilities Arms race for 30 years. Do you think Texas / Texas A&M / OSU / Baylor / Tech are going to "slow down" on their recruiting effort? They are increasing their effort & it is having an affect on the 3/4 star athletes here in the Big 12 region. It's not a question of Do we want to spend it on Stadium Upgrades? ...it is required to spend that money, if you want to stay in the front of the Big 12 championship race and not the back of the pack.

Sure, but upgrades does not mean recklessly building beyond demand. I agree that OU needs to continue making improvements, but those improvements have to be wise investments. I'm glad you mentioned Baylor... they're building a great, new stadium that will definitely attract recruits. What's the capacity going to be? 45,000. They're building in line with the market demand, which is what every school should do.

[OKVision4U]

We don't have to upgrade at all. We could just freeze all spending on the stadium and hope we continue to win. Hope, Hope, Hope. ...Hope that Baylor doesn't get another RG3. Hope that Texas finally figures out their coaching issues by spending millions and getting another Nick Saban. We could hope that Texas A&M doesn't continue to pull away all the interest w/ their new stadium in 2015. ...we could hope to continue our winning tradition while Mike Gundy gets his next stadium upgrade from Mr. Pickens. ...hope to win in 5 years if don't do anything....

[adaniel]

Why does it have to be either/or? A massive stadium capacity increase is not needed. There is no evidence to suggest otherwise. If the goal is to get recruits I can think of several others things that could be added.

And I like enthusiastic go-getters, but you could stand to tone it down about 5 notches.

[SoonerDave]

We don't have to upgrade at all. We could just freeze all spending on the stadium and hope we continue to win. Hope, Hope, Hope. ...Hope that Baylor doesn't get another RG3. Hope that Texas finally figures out their coaching issues by spending millions and getting another Nick Saban. We could hope that Texas A&M doesn't continue to pull away all the interest w/ their new stadium in 2015. ...we could hope to continue our winning tradition while Mike Gundy gets his next stadium upgrade from Mr. Pickens. ...hope to win in 5 years if don't do anything....

Huh?? The only options are to expand to 100K+ now or OU still stop winning football games because the exclusive, implicit alternative is to do nothing? That doesn't even make sense. I really don't think you mean that.

No one here is suggesting we do nothing. We are suggesting that we can't just build up to 100K+ just because someone else does. That's all. And given the fact that tickets are readily available on virtually every game day for typically well below face value, that waiting lists for tickets could be overcome with relatively modest donations to the Sooner Club work together to suggest that demand isn't as strong as some would like to believe, and if there's any question about the strength of demand for seating, it necessarily implies the need for proper due diligence on how much expansion, if any, is appropriate.

If Joe C comes out tomorrow and says "We're expanding OMS to 100K in two years," great. I will have to believe he's done that due diligence to make the expansion work. But I'm not at all as confident we can support expansion-by-endzones the way some other folks have. We know we need to generate revenue, and that surely means suites, and a 40-year-old press facility is begging replacement. I have a hard time seeing any major upgrade path that doesn't include both of these as a top priority. Bowling in the south corners is intriguing, perhaps technically impractical if not impossible and logistically too expensive, but provides better seats IMHO than just stacking up folks in an endzone. I just don't want to see a plan that entails tearing up the current west deck and rebuilding it just to match the east side, which (again IMHO) spends way too much money for very little benefit.

We'll see how it goes.

[dankrutka]

We don't have to upgrade at all. We could just freeze all spending on the stadium and hope we continue to win. Hope, Hope, Hope. ...Hope that Baylor doesn't get another RG3. Hope that Texas finally figures out their coaching issues by spending millions and getting another Nick Saban. We could hope that Texas A&M doesn't continue to pull away all the interest w/ their new stadium in 2015. ...we could hope to continue our winning tradition while Mike Gundy gets his next stadium upgrade from Mr. Pickens. ...hope to win in 5 years if don't do anything....

Did you read anyone else's comments? It doesn't seem like it.

And, why do you keep implying OU's doing nothing? OU just finished new athletic/student dorms that are among the best in the nation and definitely a recruiting tool. Anyway, moving on...

[OKVision4U]

Why does it have to be either/or? A massive stadium capacity increase is not needed. There is no evidence to suggest otherwise. If the goal is to get recruits I can think of several others things that could be added.

And I like enthusiastic go-getters, but you could stand to tone it down about 5 notches.

...I didn't say Either / OR. daniel, "no evidence to suggest otherwise" ? Have you been following ANY college football? ....Texas A&M / OSU / Baylor / Texas / Tech have all made MAJOR re-investments to their stadium. And aDaniel, the goal my friend is Always to get recruits. ( quote Barry S..." it's the Jimmy's & the Joe's, not the X's and O's" ). The press-box should changed out and brought into the 21st century.

Our stadium was voted 33 out of 50 for places to see in college football. The primary reason so "low", was the stadium did not match the history of OU and small in capacity. Yes, I would like to have 100K, but that may not be the most critical point.

[OKVision4U]

I'm all for supporting whatever capacity the demographics and market will allow. If that's 100K, great, but not 100K merely for the sake of saying we have 100K. When you don't get 100K there, the empty seats stick out like a sore thumb and make that gameday experience just a little...strange. And those recruits are saying, "man, this is a cool place, but look at those empty seats way up there..."

Point is you can't just throw money and chairs at the place. Every penny spent has to be spent intelligently, not merely because Texas or OSU or (whomever) is doing it. LIke I said before, I can't think of anyone better suited than Joe C. to oversee it.

Heck, I'd just like to see 'em make the big video board in the south endzone taller and go full HD

Dave, there may be something you are over / under looking, is that OU is NOT the typical university. If you are going to say that "demograhics / market size comps" should be the only criteria for stadium capacity, then you would be correct. IF you are New Mexico State. IF, you are the Northern Idaho Bulldogs.

OU is an Elite program and has been since 1949 1/2. This is not by accident. We have had to "keep up w/ the jones" for almost a century now. This is not just recruits either, the program funds ALL programs at this fine university. So, we cant afford to be "just another" program out there. This Monster has to be fed. So, YES, we have to build / expand just because the others do. ( that is the game we are in ).

[SoonerDave]

...I didn't say Either / OR.

It sure sounded like you did to me. You repeatedly beat the hammer for the arms-race-based expansion, then when folks offered suggestions that an arbitrary expansion may not be a good idea, you then replied with "We don't have to upgrade at all."

I interpreted your comments precisely the same way adaniel and dankrutka did, as either we expand and join the arms race and blindly build just to hit a number, or OU is doomed to football obscurity and irrelevance.

If you review your earlier comments honestly, I think you'll understand what we're talking about. Did you literally say "either/or"? No. But that implication was clear in the other comments.

[OKVision4U]

It sure sounded like you did to me. You repeatedly beat the hammer for the arms-race-based expansion, then when folks offered suggestions that an arbitrary expansion may not be a good idea, you then replied with "We don't have to upgrade at all."

I interpreted your comments precisely the same way adaniel and dankrutka did, as either we expand and join the arms race and blindly build just to hit a number, or OU is doomed to football obscurity and irrelevance.

If you review your earlier comments honestly, I think you'll understand what we're talking about. Did you literally say "either/or"? No. But that implication was clear in the other comments.

Dave, some were saying "that the dollar should be spent wisely... code for le'ts not do too much right now". I'm not calling it "OU is doomed to failure" if we don't expand. But I will promise this, if we don't continue to keep our edge, then we will find ourselves in a very comfortable 8-4 / 9-3 regular season each year. This slippery slope is when we "loose out" on a few keys recruits in each class. Just a couple of difference makers. This is the (average) that happens more quickly than you think. Kids are more trendy, and they want to go to the "HOT" spot for football.

[Laramie]

Increasing seating capacity by expanding end zone seating has been done in many college stadiums. Although it doesn't produce immediate financial returns--it is an investment for building your future fan base. There will be fans who begin their Sooner football experience with whatever seating is available.

We need to address stadium expansion because we are turning off those people who want seats and can't get them. I realize there are those of you who can purchase tickets outside the stadium right before kick-off or immediately after the game starts without problems. There are those of us who have had bad experiences and have been duped attempting to purchase tickets before game time. Sure, you can buy one ticket here and there and get separated from the person who wants to share that football experience with you.

What's more important? 1. Available seating to sustain the fan base... 2. Sustain the 91 consecutive sellouts...

OU, among the most fabled football programs in the country will need to decide where do we go from here?

There are financial risks involved with expansion; those risks will determine whether we maintain the status quo or continue to remain among the elite programs in college football.

Memorial Stadium, Lincoln The stadium holds an ongoing NCAA record of 330 consecutive sellouts, which began in 1962... ...on September 14, 2013, a Memorial Stadium record crowd of 91,471 watched Nebraska get beaten by UCLA.--Memorial Stadium, Lincoln - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia_

[ou48A]

Any expansion that would occur would likely be on the small side but one way to increase a few season tickets to the public would be to reduce the number of tickets to students.... Sec 26 is rarely full. Many students arrive late and leave early for all games, including the very close games.

Assigned student seating, price reductions and keeping track of personal student attendance might be worth considering.

[SoonerDave]

We need to address stadium expansion because we are turning off those people who want seats and can't get them. I realize there are those of you who can purchase tickets outside the stadium right before kick-off or immediately after the game starts without problems. There are those of us who have had bad experiences and have been duped attempting to purchase tickets before game time. Sure, you can buy one ticket here and there and get separated from the person who wants to share that football experience with you.

No offense, Laramie, but 1) getting tickets just isn't that difficult. I've been getting tickets on game day every home game for close to thirty years. If someone doesn't get tickets, its because they don't want them; and 2) I don't wait until "just before kickoff." I arrive at most home games at least two or three HOURS before kickoff to enjoy the day, and I pick-and-choose until I find the seats I want at the price I want. And I've never been separated from whomever I went with or had to "split seats."

I think this notion of limited ticket availability is an urban legend that really needs dispelling.

[ou48A]

Dave, some were saying "that the dollar should be spent wisely... code for le'ts not do too much right now". I'm not calling it "OU is doomed to failure" if we don't expand. But I will promise this, if we don't continue to keep our edge, then we will find ourselves in a very comfortable 8-4 / 9-3 regular season each year. This slippery slope is when we "loose out" on a few keys recruits in each class. Just a couple of difference makers. This is the (average) that happens more quickly than you think. Kids are more trendy, and they want to go to the "HOT" spot for football.

Each dollar should be spent wisely, but that has nothing to do with doing whats right.
I have seen OU spend good money and in decent amounts only to tear out the work that they had done just a few years later.
I hate that.

But this doesn’t mean that OU shouldn’t build what's right or what's needed.

[ou48A]

I won't vouch for the accuracy of this.. but KREF talk show host Hale indicated today that OU would need to conduct a fund raising campaign for it's football and basketball facility's and that OU would need a total of $200 million dollars in new donations.