Oklahoma football: Judge upholds injunction in steel dispute, but other stadium construction will continue | NewsOK.com (http://m.newsok.com/judge-upholds-injunction-in-steel-dispute-but-other-stadium-construction-will-continue/article/5456347)

Other construction will continue, but the bigger problem is that the panels and structure in question are getting very close to the point of pre-fabrication at whatever contractor ends up with the job. On the surface, the bond OU requested was large, but it wouldn't take much to demonstrate the real risk in the millions scale if the school can't provide the seats they've already sold or promised by virtue of contributions, etc.

The judge also issued a temporary stay of his order pending OU's appeal. This is becoming a bigger deal with each passing day. From what I read either in that or a very similar article, if this thing truly ends up going to trial, OU won't be able to meet its construction schedule. And there was very little slop in there to begin with.

Seems as though this is the kind of thing that would get resolved with some sort of settlement, no admission of wrongdoing, write a check, be done with it. That OU is aggressively defending this indicates that either a settlement was offered through back-channels, but rejected, or OU genuinely believes it's legally in the right.

Either way, right now, it's a mess. At this point, I just can't believe this is merely a matter of sloppy lawyering. This is hardly the first construction contract rodeo for OU.

Think about the downstream effects; As an example, just look at the scoreboard contract item on the regents' agenda. It specifies a delivery/install of August 26, 2016. Ohio State is Sep 17, IIRC.

Construction can continue for now as per the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Oklahoma Supreme Court's stay allows OU stadium project to continue for now | NewsOK.com (http://m.newsok.com/oklahoma-supreme-court-issues-stay-in-stadium-construction-halt/article/5457747)


NORMAN — The state Supreme Court has granted a stay in enforcement of a temporary injunction issued by a Cleveland County judge last week that threatened a halt in construction of an expansion of Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

The order issued by the high court Friday means construction work can continue until an appeal process is completed in the case filed by a Kansas steel manufacturer against OU, construction project manager Flintco Inc. and W&W Steel.

Went to the game last night and had a great time but...


One of the big reasons OU has given for the stadium renovation is to make sure people still go to the games, as opposed to staying home and watching on their huge high-def TV's. Increasingly hard to compete with the home experience.

Before the game I was at a friend's tailgate and they had the Ohio State / Michigan State game on, and almost everyone was following intently. The game had a direct effect on OU's playoff chances, plus most OU fans are huge fans of college football.

So, once I get in the stadium 1) due to the crowd, getting cell service is very difficult; 2) they only gave the OSU / Baylor score a couple of times, and not at all until the game was almost over; 3) we had no idea what was going with Baker Mayfield and other banged up players; 4) the replays were very poor and infrequent, etc., etc.

I absolutely love going to the games; or I should say I love the gameday experience. But in this day and age, it's absolutely absurd how little information you get while in the stands and because everyone now is used to info all the time anywhere, it's really not even close to an acceptable situation.

In fact, I had a buddy in the suites who was texting me OSU / Baylor and other scoring updates, and I was relaying them to everyone around me, who were all very interested.

There are lots of things they can do now without completely renovating the stadium. And until they do, you can't blame people for staying home or merely leaving the stadium early so that can actually figure out what is going on in the rest of the world, and still being able to follow the Sooners much better than physically being at the game.


OU and other big football schools had better figure this stuff out quickly, otherwise people are going to simply stop coming, and that's already the case with a lot of the students.

OU has no issue selling tickets. And one of the big parts of the renovation. Is full stadium wifi.

Hey, you can always go old school and listen to the broadcast on your transistor radio. :)

Seriously though I completely agree. The cotton bowl is about to go under construction but I realized during the ou/texas game that I was actually spoiled by sooner stadium. They had one tiny old screen and no video ring around the stands that posts scores when not jiggling "STAND UP AND YELLLLLL!!!"

I'm sure you saw the little man with the headset and microphone come out and play some osu v baylor clips on the big screen and give the score? that needs to be happening EVERY timeout, or at least more than twice a game. I was driving to the game when OSU/MICH ST ended and would loved to see that recapped in 30-45 seconds.

Replays: 50,000 screaming sooner fans were going insane at ou/tx because there was one crumby replay at one crumby angle and it played once and that's it, if at all! I don't recall seeing any home game replays more than once either. I'm almost positive it's in the broadcasting contract, it further infuriates because you have to see the sponsor ad before the replay comes on. And in the hurry up college offense that's often too much time before the next snap.

Point is: the broadcasting agreement needs to change. If our game is on the abc/ESPN family, then they should be able to go live to any game if the chance arises. Replays across the broadcast spectrum. These universities and broadcast affiliates have extremely lucrative arrangements. Which profits from the fans as well, painted up super fans in the snow, crying children on the losing side, couples texting while oblivious to the kiss cam. These all make highlight reels and cutaways to commercials. The fans deserve better.

Btw Pete if your not glued to one game, try ESPN goal line for a main line college football Junkie fix. It cuts to all the action across the network live with no commercials.

They're already dismantling the big screen this morning. Letting no grass grow under their feet...

One thing that I've always been impressed with is baseballs ability to give me constant updates in other games scores, usually by dedicated scoreboards that show all the different games. This could easily be done on the new massive scoreboard or anywhere and then keep doing the around the country score update as I believe it is called now. I know on the sides that run a top 25 ticker that shows many of the score but usually I am not in tuned to the game to catch the ones I was hoping to catch up on. Hopefully, these renovations will just improve the fan experience all around for an already great stadium.

One thing that could have helped in this is if networking had ever put a priority on multicasting, basically sending the same data to every device with access to the network but only taking as much spectrum as communicating to one device. By using a few of these channels could be good for giving multiple angles of replays for recent downs, other game scores, etc. Unfortunately it has never really taken off and in ways is even getting worse support than it use to.

I hate the south end zone plans. It's everything that's wrong with college football today. Turn it into a playground for the very rich for 5 hours 7 or 8 times a year. The suites, the clubs, all of it - it's just crazy. A bowling alley? Just insane. I love college football, but hate the direction its been heading for years. It's not even about student athletes anymore with all the waivers, it's basically farm schools for the NFL. It's still fun to watch OU, but if I think about these other things during a game, it takes a lot of the excitement out of it.

I hate the south end zone plans. It's everything that's wrong with college football today. Turn it into a playground for the very rich for 5 hours 7 or 8 times a year. The suites, the clubs, all of it - it's just crazy. A bowling alley? Just insane. I love college football, but hate the direction its been heading for years. It's not even about student athletes anymore with all the waivers, it's basically farm schools for the NFL. It's still fun to watch OU, but if I think about these other things during a game, it takes a lot of the excitement out of it.

You're totally right, have watched this documentary ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VITYq6WSPQM
If not, it's great.

I hate the south end zone plans. It's everything that's wrong with college football today. Turn it into a playground for the very rich for 5 hours 7 or 8 times a year. The suites, the clubs, all of it - it's just crazy. A bowling alley? Just insane. I love college football, but hate the direction its been heading for years. It's not even about student athletes anymore with all the waivers, it's basically farm schools for the NFL. It's still fun to watch OU, but if I think about these other things during a game, it takes a lot of the excitement out of it.

to be fair, though, a football stadium is essentially a really nice, really large playground. the whole thing is a playground.

Ah, for the uncomplicated days when I first started to go to OU games over 50 years ago. The public address announcer was the only way to get other scores and the highlight was always the Slippery Rock score. :)

OU has no issue selling tickets. And one of the big parts of the renovation. Is full stadium wifi.

While it's true there's not a practical problem selling tickets, I do think there's a legitimate issue around the overall attendance at college football that schools like OU have to consider: Overall CFB attendance is down. And there's been more than one home game this year where it was painfully obvious the "sellout" was a fiction satisfied by some nice sponsor/patron who simply bought up a block of tickets. So, in practical terms, no, there's no trouble filling the stadium, but then again, it's also apparent that OU is at or near a "sweet spot" where selling another few thousand sets might be a bit problematic, for all the general reasons Pete outlined. And I think that's precisely why the overarching plans for this expansion results in a net gain of only a very small number of seats as a percentage of the whole stadium's current capacity.

I'm delighted to know that full wifi is one of the big parts of the renovation. We were at the game Saturday and I wouldn't have known about injury status to anyone if my *mom*, watching 20 miles away, hadn't texted me some bits and pieces along the way -- when the signal was strong enough to be useful.

I was talking to someone (who had drank a little to much so it may or may not be true) who has season tix in the south end zone who got to take the "tour" of the upgrades and then had an opportunity to reserve new seats. Turns out its a $2,000 donation for each seat to reserve them. I think that's a little ridiculous if you are already a season ticket holder.

Well, I think this is probably why they aren't adding a significant number of new seats to that end zone, instead opting for the plazas. They want to keep ticket sales healthy and if all we have to go by is the renderings, then I suspect only about 500-1,000 (perhaps less) seats will be added.

Selling tickets now (as opposed to 5 years from now) and actually having people show up and stay at games are very different things.

As mentioned, they are not looking to add capacity and that says a lot.

By the middle of the 3rd quarter on Saturday, tons of people had left. The student section is never completely full anymore. Many students don't even bother buying the super cheap student tickets anymore.

They could resolve lots of the issues well before all the upgrades are complete, which will take several years. They could start to put in WIFI, give lots more score updates and the like, do better with the replays, etc.

Well, I think this is probably why they aren't adding a significant number of new seats to that end zone, instead opting for the plazas. They want to keep ticket sales healthy and if all we have to go by is the renderings, then I suspect only about 500-1,000 (perhaps less) seats will be added.

For next season, there will be a net increase of about 3K seats, but during the off-season *next* year, they will be adding ADA-compliant stair railings *EVERYWHERE* in the stadium, and that will result in the loss of each end-most seat in each row. So that will offset the gain from this year, leaving the net capacity barely changed at all. Any increase is incidental.

I hate the south end zone plans. It's everything that's wrong with college football today. Turn it into a playground for the very rich for 5 hours 7 or 8 times a year. The suites, the clubs, all of it - it's just crazy. A bowling alley? Just insane. I love college football, but hate the direction its been heading for years. It's not even about student athletes anymore with all the waivers, it's basically farm schools for the NFL. It's still fun to watch OU, but if I think about these other things during a game, it takes a lot of the excitement out of it.

But here's the problem, zoo. If you want to keep OU football as an attraction, as a fun alternative, as a desirable thing, you have to keep feeding the system with premier athletes, premier resources, and that means premier funding. Who else will fund it if not the folks that have the money? And if putting in amenities that enhance the experience encourages them to do it, what's the harm?

You can keep the thing filled with hardwood bleachers for the sake of quaintness, but as we saw in the mid-90's, it doesn't take long for *any* program to descend into irrelevance very quickly.

I mean, yeah, I get the "playground for the rich" lament, and to an extent I agree - I'm not and never have been even a season ticket holder, and I'm surely not a suite donor, and when face-value ticket prices for bad games hits $80-90 per, you realize you're pricing average folks out of the market or limiting them to maybe one or two games per year at most. But I also understand the folks *with* the money have to be the ones that build the place, because there would be no support for *public* money doing it. So what's the alternative? If we collectively enjoy it, I don't see any other way to play the game.

Keep in mind that the current ticket holders are rapidly aging and the younger generations that will be replacing them have much higher expectations and have grown up in the information and entertainment age.

I know Joe Castiglione is smart enough to understand all this, I just wish they would do more in the short-term.

Keep in mind that the current ticket holders are rapidly aging and the younger generations that will be replacing them have much higher expectations and have grown up in the information and entertainment age.

I know Joe Castiglione is smart enough to understand all this, I just wish they would do more in the short-term.

Are you calling me old, Pete? :)

I freely admit I don't need *most* of the amenities younger folks want. I grew up going to the game to go to the game. I didn't need things like the Fan Fest, or gourmet food, and there was no such thing as ESPN GameDay; my dad would just stand in line for a lukewarm Dr. Pepper from the concession stands or from one of the scouts that used to sell them in the stadium. :) I went to the game to, well, watch the game. Still do for the most part :)

^

I'm / was exactly the same way and I'm 55.

I don't care about all the promo videos they do and junk like that. I want WIFI and want to know what else is happening in college football and want to know more about what is happening (or just happened) on the field.

At one point, I left my seat and went down to the concession stand so I could see the broadcast and hear with the OU announcers were saying about Mayfield and other games being played. I stayed down there for quite a while.

^

I'm / was exactly the same way and I'm 55.

I don't care about all the promo videos they do and junk like that. I want WIFI and want to know what else is happening in college football and want to know more about what is happening (or just happened) on the field.

At one point, I left me seat and went down to the concession stand so I could see the broadcast and hear with the OU announcers were saying about Mayfield and other games being played. I stayed down there for quite a while.

That's exactly how my son and I found out about Mayfield. He came back from getting a hot dog during halftime and said, "Hey, the radio guys on the TV said the trainers were looking at Mayfield without his helmet." And in trotted TK9. The crowd, generally, was in disbelief. The place had almost no energy until the very end...

^

I'm / was exactly the same way and I'm 55.

I don't care about all the promo videos they do and junk like that. I want WIFI and want to know what else is happening in college football and want to know more about what is happening (or just happened) on the field.

At one point, I left me seat and went down to the concession stand so I could see the broadcast and hear with the OU announcers were saying about Mayfield and other games being played. I stayed down there for quite a while.

There was a good report on this. I forget where.

It basically said people don't even want to go to football or other sporting events if they can't access their phones. They want to keep up with their fantasy teams and check out scores in real time.

I have been to a couple of Cowboys games in Arlington (GO GIANTS) and they had FANTASTIC wifi. I could even watch live NFL Gamepass on my phone. I know the stadium is sponsored by ATT so that might help but man it was awesome. Best experience in a long time going to a game.

I am a big OU fan but do not really enjoy going to the game. Crowded and uncomfortable to me. Rather see it from home with friends.

Well, I think this is probably why they aren't adding a significant number of new seats to that end zone, instead opting for the plazas. They want to keep ticket sales healthy and if all we have to go by is the renderings, then I suspect only about 500-1,000 (perhaps less) seats will be added.

Agree, the south end zone rendering does look like possible reduction in that end zone.

Those 100,000-seat NCAA football stadiums have pockets empty seats which doesn't give you the full feel you get in the comfort of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

UTexas has some empty seats (100,119): College football attendance making rare increase early in 2015 - CBSSports.com (http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jon-solomon/25329428/college-football-attendance-making-rare-increase-early-in-2015)

Agree, the south end zone rendering does look like possible reduction in that end zone.

If you go to Soonercams.com and look at the current state of construction, you'll notice a portion of the retaining wall on the east side of the current south endzone has already been peeled away, and replaced with a metal fence; the top 1/5 (perhaps 10-15 rows) still have the retaining wall. The area with the retaining wall is going away, and that will be the new "top" of the stadium that should line up with the existing stadium. Those 15 or so rows are being razed.

The current SEZ structure was built in 1980 and why on earth it was purposely built so much taller than the rest of the stadium escapes me. I think it had upwards of 85-90 rows, whereas the rest of the stadium only has 75 - 76, actually, because I think at least one row in the lower section is a duplicate with an "A" suffix, like "Row 10A."




Those 100,000-seat NCAA football stadiums have pockets empty seats which doesn't give you the full feel you get in the comfort of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

UTexas has some empty seats (100,119): College football attendance making rare increase early in 2015 - CBSSports.com (http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jon-solomon/25329428/college-football-attendance-making-rare-increase-early-in-2015)

Lots of "bigger" programs have either lamented or backed off *expansion* plans until attendance numbers get more concrete. I think Nebraska was lamenting their recent expansion shortly after it was completed because the interest/demand level wasn't what they expected - and they've been selling out their stadium since 1765. :)

(GO GIANTS)
I am a big OU fan but do not really enjoy going to the game. Crowded and uncomfortable to me. Rather see it from home with friends.


Where there is COOP F-5, excellent sight lines, gourmet quality eats, and a climate controlled environment.

Where there is COOP F-5, excellent sight lines, gourmet quality eats, and a climate controlled environment.

Yes, and this is a pretty big change from the days where not very many games are televised, you didn't have a DVR to pause and rewind, didn't have wifi and unlimited high-speed internet access, you watched on some crappy 19" tube TV, ticket and concession prices weren't so massive, etc.

I am an information junkie and I can't stand being in the dark for four hours, especially when it comes to actually knowing about the OU game itself!


I actually strongly considered leaving the game and walking across the street to a friend's tailgate where they had satellite TV, beer on tap, tons of free food and a covered seating area with heat. And that's just 50 yards from the stadium, all completely self-contained and portable.

I was talking to someone (who had drank a little to much so it may or may not be true) who has season tix in the south end zone who got to take the "tour" of the upgrades and then had an opportunity to reserve new seats. Turns out its a $2,000 donation for each seat to reserve them. I think that's a little ridiculous if you are already a season ticket holder.
This is what my family is facing. We've been told that to hold on to the same 6 seats we've had for close to 30 years, it'll be at least another $12,000 dollars per year above the ticket price. While we're still discussing what to do, I'm pretty sure they've priced us out. I'm actually OK with it since I'd rather watch at home for the same reasons already expressed a few posts back. But it is sad to lose the tickets that my kids have grown up sitting in and where we've made good friends over the years.

I was talking to someone (who had drank a little to much so it may or may not be true) who has season tix in the south end zone who got to take the "tour" of the upgrades and then had an opportunity to reserve new seats. Turns out its a $2,000 donation for each seat to reserve them. I think that's a little ridiculous if you are already a season ticket holder.

The same thing happened to me many years ago at the LLoyd Noble although not because of a renovation. I was a TIp In Club member and had 4 great seats about 12 rows up behind the OU bench. Even though I had those seats for quite a few years I received notification that, in order to keep the same seats, I would have to donate $10,000.00. I declined that generous offer.

I'm relatively young (mid-30s), very plugged into social media, and I would go to the game 100 out of 100 times over watching it at home. It's a totally different experience going to games. I'll also add that my phone almost always is working over the last two seasons (before that it wouldn't work well during most games). But I totally agree with the critiques and I'll add one more - the food options are terrible. More and more stadiums have started to bring in local restaurants. How do you think people would respond to a Tucker's in the stadium?

The same thing happened to me many years ago at the LLoyd Noble although not because of a renovation. I was a TIp In Club member and had 4 great seats about 12 rows up behind the OU bench. Even though I had those seats for quite a few years I received notification that, in order to keep the same seats, I would have to donate $10,000.00. I declined that generous offer.

Woah hold on.... They charge for OU basketball tickets???

;)

One thing that the current generation just can't possibly comprehend (and you have none other than OU and Georgia to thank for it) is the SATURATION of CFB on TV these days. Those of us with a vintage similar to mine or Pete's remember all too vividly back in the day when the NCAA tightly controlled TV appearances, and limited schools to, as I recall, either two national appearances a year or three appearances over two years, and perhaps one more regional appearance. And that was it. ABC was all-but the exclusive carrier of college ball, with Chris Schenkel (sp), Bill Fleming, and Keith Jackson. Most games got *zero* TV, and that's why the replay show was such a big deal. The local TV sports stations would advertise who could get their highlight reels processed the quickest for the next news show.

Most people brought radios to the game to get score updates, as you *might* get a few scores updated by the grand ol' PA announcer in Norman, Bill Boren. In that vein, communicating info to the fans hasn't really improved *that* much - the score ticker updates more frequently on the ribbon boards, but that's about it.

Fun rabbit chase (pre-emptive apology for slightly OT departure): Favorite memory of how fans didn't all get scores at the same time was the 1978 OU-OSU game. OU had a superteam that year, had been #1 and beating people silly *until* The Fumble happened in Lincoln, and Nebraska beat OU 17-14. That next Saturday, OU was finishing the season against OSU (which, in that era, was perennially and predictably awful), and winning 62-7. Nebraska, meanwhile, was finishing *its* regular season against Missouri. As the Norman game was not competitive, the crowd wasn't very much into the game, until you started hearing bizarre sections of the stadium start spontaneously cheering for seemingly no reason. Then a *different* section started up. It was crazy. I then looked at the scoreboard, and flashing on the message board were the words "LOOK UP HERE!!!!" - where it flashed "4th Quarter: Missouri 35, Nebraska 31." And a few minutes later, Boren came over the PA and announced the final - the place erupted. We were Big 8 co-champs, and ended up replaying Nebbish in the Orange Bowl.

Anyway, sorry for the departure, but it was a fun memory. The point in all this is the home football environment is just monumentally different from the 1970's, and most folks under about 30 just don't even realize *how* different. The downside is that the pervasiveness of games on TV has started to take a toll on home attendance, so attracting folks to the stadium has become a new and different process.

One thing that the current generation just can't possibly comprehend (and you have none other than OU and Georgia to thank for it) is the SATURATION of CFB on TV these days.

Again, just playing devil's advocate, but are we sure having more games on TV hurts college football attendance? There have been a ton of games on for years and attendance just recently started to dwindle a bit after decades of growth (right?). While I'm always disappointed when a good game is at the same time as OU's (like this week), I've never considered missing an OU game because of it. And it's nice that games are on all day Saturday so you can tailgate and pay attention to games when they're good. Anyway, saturation may be affecting attendance, but that certainly hasn't been my experience.

Again, just playing devil's advocate, but are we sure having more games on TV hurts college football attendance? There have been a ton of games on for years and attendance just recently started to dwindle a bit after decades of growth (right?). While I'm always disappointed when a good game is at the same time as OU's (like this week), I've never considered missing an OU game because of it. And it's nice that games are on all day Saturday so you can tailgate and pay attention to games when they're good. Anyway, saturation may be affecting attendance, but that certainly hasn't been my experience.

I don't think there's any question it has had an impact; the degree is certainly up for discussion. I think there's plenty of at least anecdotal evidence in this thread that contemporary football watchers like to be engaged not just in their own games, but in other games, and find the appeal of their living rooms, big-screen TV's, and home-cooked snacks/parties increasingly compelling. It isn't for *me* - going to the games will ALWAYS be *my* personal preference barring external circumstances.

I also agree completely with a previous poster that there's nothing, NOTHING, like *going* to a game. As a senior at OU in 1985, some classwork prevented me from going to one of the great OU blowouts of Nebraska back in 85. Sure, I watched it on TV, but I hate the fact I wasn't there to watch Keith Jackson run the field on *that* reverse.

I don't know if this was previous mentioned yet but the new south endzone (after renovations) is going to be entirely "suite" level seats. If your seats are in the middle of the south endzone you will have access to the club level below the stands with free food and the ability to purchase alcohol. Our seats (currently Sec.37 row 70) are going from $380 per year to $2,500 per year if we wanted to stay there (the face value is going up AND it requires a $2,000 annual donation per seat). SO basically our seat prices are going from around $70 per game to around $360 per game. That's just not feasible!

They promised us seats in the stadium to relocate, but no promises. We have 6 together, and will likely have to split up. Hopefully a bunch of people move to the new south endzone and open up some decent seats elsewhere.

This is really frustrating for us and everyone around us that have called the south endzone home for almost 20 years, but I guess progress just costs money..

I don't know if this was previous mentioned yet but the new south endzone (after renovations) is going to be entirely "suite" level seats. If your seats are in the middle of the south endzone you will have access to the club level below the stands with free food and the ability to purchase alcohol. Our seats (currently Sec.37 row 70) are going from $380 per year to $2,500 per year if we wanted to stay there (the face value is going up AND it requires a $2,000 annual donation per seat). SO basically our seat prices are going from around $70 per game to around $360 per game. That's just not feasible!

They promised us seats in the stadium to relocate, but no promises. We have 6 together, and will likely have to split up. Hopefully a bunch of people move to the new south endzone and open up some decent seats elsewhere.

This is really frustrating for us and everyone around us that have called the south endzone home for almost 20 years, but I guess progress just costs money..

The one aspect of this entire renovation that *still* surprises me is that they opted to do this much work *to the south endzone*.

I remember all too vividly, years ago, when talking in general about updating and expanding the stadium, Joe Castiglione insisted that the best investment in the stadium were in "seats between the 20's", not endzones. On that basis, the idea of *any* kind of endzone-focused updates or changes seemed like a non-starter. Heck, when I was a kid, we had season tickets in the endzone, and they were horrible. We had them for, I think, two years, and let them go. Yet, here we are, dropping $160M on and endzone. Considering the west upper deck and pressbox area was built five years *before* that south endzone, and the press box itself has been in need of updates for some time, the choice to redo the *endzone* continues to amaze me. I always appreciated the novelty of the idea of bowling in the stadium, but I honestly *never* thought it would be done. Yet here we are.

It just points out the fact that, these days, people aren't always going to the game to go to the game. Now, mind you, if you like endzone seats, power to ya, but that becomes a situation where I generally (gotta leave myself an out) prefer to watch it on TV than watch 22 guys move side-to-side 120 yards away. And, even were I in the elite income level to make these kinds of contributions, I simply wouldn't. Not for endzone seats.

I don't know if this was previous mentioned yet but the new south endzone (after renovations) is going to be entirely "suite" level seats. If your seats are in the middle of the south endzone you will have access to the club level below the stands with free food and the ability to purchase alcohol. Our seats (currently Sec.37 row 70) are going from $380 per year to $2,500 per year if we wanted to stay there (the face value is going up AND it requires a $2,000 annual donation per seat). SO basically our seat prices are going from around $70 per game to around $360 per game. That's just not feasible!

They promised us seats in the stadium to relocate, but no promises. We have 6 together, and will likely have to split up. Hopefully a bunch of people move to the new south endzone and open up some decent seats elsewhere.

This is really frustrating for us and everyone around us that have called the south endzone home for almost 20 years, but I guess progress just costs money..


A bunch of incorrect Info in this post.

1. season ticket prices are the same for every seat in the stadium. (This is not changing).

2. not all seats in the new south end will be "suit" level what ever that means.
The new south end will have 4 different levels of seating. Suites lodge boxes Club level seats. And normal seats.

3. Your seats are not going up in price. The reality is your seats will no longer exist If you want seats in the same area they are now club seats.

Those in the lower part of the south end zone can stay where they are at the same price.

A bunch of incorrect Info in this post.

1. season ticket prices are the same for every seat in the stadium. (This is not changing).

2. not all seats in the new south end will be "suit" level what ever that means.
The new south end will have 4 different levels of seating. Suites lodge boxes Club level seats. And normal seats.

3. Your seats are not going up in price. The reality is your seats will no longer exist If you want seats in the same area they are now club seats.

Those in the lower part of the south end zone can stay where they are at the same price.

There's that certainty again. I think OKNick is speaking from what he's been told.

And Baker Mayfield will never get a scholarship at OU. Just will not happen! I remember well, BS (BoulderSooner).

And, btw, What does "same price" mean when they are asking for additional thousands to keep your seat, or even move to another?

There's that certainty again. I think OKNick is speaking from what he's been told.

And Baker Mayfield will never get a scholarship at OU. Just will not happen! I remember well, BS (BoulderSooner).

And, btw, What does "same price" mean when they are asking for additional thousands to keep your seat, or even move to another?

I'm a season ticket holder in the lower west side of the south end zone and my family has had the seats for decades and we love them. When the action is in our end of the field, there are no better seats in the stadium.

OKNick is wrong... the entire south end zone is NOT going to all be suite seats requiring a donation to keep your seats. My seats may change slightly but I have never donated to keep my seats and I won't be required to after the renovations.

...and isn't it ironic that you choose "choose civility" as your avatar while you continue to take cheap shots at BoulderSooner with that same old tired quote...

I'm a season ticket holder in the lower west side of the south end zone and my family has had the seats for decades and we love them. When the action is in our end of the field, there are no better seats in the stadium.

OKNick is wrong... the entire south end zone is NOT going to all be suite seats requiring a donation to keep your seats. My seats may change slightly but I have never donated to keep my seats and I won't be required to after the renovations.

...and isn't it ironic that you choose "choose civility" as your avatar while you continue to take cheap shots at BoulderSooner with that same old tired quote...

Cheap shots? Go back and read that thread and all his certainty. You'd rub it in too. His posts are always so condescending. Maybe I should change my avatar. I admit I'm not perfect.

Cheap shots? Go back and read that thread and all his certainty. You'd rub it in too. His posts are always so condescending. Maybe I should change my avatar. I admit I'm not perfect.

Nobody's perfect and although I don't post much considering my join date, I'm a daily reader and I can assure you, you have no room to talk...

Pot meet kettle...

This is getting way too personal over some pretty silly issues...

Let's please stop fighting with each other and get back to topic. Thanks.

Nobody's perfect and although I don't post much considering my join date, I'm a daily reader and I can assure you, you have no room to talk...

Pot meet kettle...

By looking back at reading your posts....honestly? You're hardly one to talk. I may have strong opinions at times, but I don't think I am condescending. I don't "talk down" to posters. When he turns out to be wrong, do I give Boulder a hard time because of his certainty from his high mighty perch? Irresistible. I'll admit that.

I agree, Pete. I'm guilty. I didn't think picking on Boulder was that big a deal, but I'm wrong. I should shut up and - I will. Going to my corner now.

I'm a season ticket holder in the lower west side of the south end zone and my family has had the seats for decades and we love them. When the action is in our end of the field, there are no better seats in the stadium.

OKNick is wrong... the entire south end zone is NOT going to all be suite seats requiring a donation to keep your seats. My seats may change slightly but I have never donated to keep my seats and I won't be required to after the renovations.

...and isn't it ironic that you choose "choose civility" as your avatar while you continue to take cheap shots at BoulderSooner with that same old tired quote...
While I don't know about the "entire" south end zone, I can assure you that a large part of it is. The people in front of us said they were offered a chance to keep their 2 seats at a price of $9000. That's pretty much $2500 per seat and $2000 donation. While that's not how I understood our situation to be, I'm beginning to think (after hearing multiple people quote the same prices) that I might not have listened close enough.

Whoa! This did get personal really quick! And I didn't say all the seats in the S.Endzone were going to be suite level seats. I said the middle section.

I spoke with the ticket office on the phone for almost an hour and I had a personal appointment with the ticket office in their mock "museum" they set up on Campus Corner. They told me to my face that the face value of our seats were going from $380 to $480, and we would be required to give the annual donation of $2,000 per seat. Taking what we were paying from $380 to $2,480 per seat per season.

And since we were in the "South affected" group we were offered about any seat we wanted in the new s.endzone, but there was nothing cheaper than the $2,500 seats. They only offered us these "suite" level seats and the bunker boxes which were WAY more expensive. I was told that the upper corners of the new S.endzone were gonna be like normal priced seats, but we were not offered those.

There is likely a different offering for different levels of donors. We are not big donors. Only small contributions here and there. So it's possible we were offered something different than everyone else. But it is what it is. I have a feeling that they are trying to get rid of anyone not making an annual donation per seat in the stadium. It makes sense because they need to raise revenue to pay for the renovations.

I hope our 6 seats can get relocated to a decent area. I really don't want to be up high on the east or west sides. We will see what shakes out!

I hope our 6 seats can get relocated to a decent area. I really don't want to be up high on the east or west sides. We will see what shakes out!

Nick, we've been in section 103 pretty high up ever since we were in the SEZ that one year (TY!), and I have to say I really like them -- west (shady) side, can see the whole field, and sometimes the food and bev guys from the suites next door come out with leftover hotdogs and pretzels for free for us "proles" in the 4Q. WIN WIN WIN

Seriously though, it's not a bad spot if you end up having to move. I know how it can be when you have to leave seats you've had for awhile, though. And much of the experience also hinges on whomever happens to be around you, if it's a fun group or not. Always a bit of a crapshoot with that.

Why are all of you OU folks so opposed to higher ticket prices? The football should support the "school." There are school where all season tix require a donation to the school.

This is symptomatic of the fan base comprised mostly of people who didn't attend college... Let alone the Univ of Oklahoma.

^^^^^^
This is the most ridiculous "insult" that I routinely hear from the OSU fan base. First of all, statistically a much larger percentage of the population attended OU to begin with. The school has a larger enrollment and this has always been the case. The people who regularly sit in the stands around me are mostly alums and their families, including a family from Dallas who have had tickets for 40+ years and have 3 generations of folks who've attended OU.

There are also plenty of fans who support the program because their KIDS go there. That's completely valid.

Second, you're acting like every OSU fan attended the school or has ties to it. I know tons of people who are OSU fans with no real ties. There are plenty of plumbers, welders and whatever else who just like OSU or have family ties to it, and that's fine. There's nothing wrong with having hard-working, blue-collar fans who just like football and want an in-state team to root for. You act like having fans who are working people is something to be ashamed of.

I notice that - just like at OU - there are always more OSU fans when OSU is winning. OU doesn't have the market cornered on bandwagon fans. It comes with victories. It's part of the deal, and OSU has earned more of them recently by becoming a pretty darn good program.

And then there are the OSU fans (I know some of these) who are only OSU fans because they hate OU and want to root against them. I used to live in some apartments with a lady like this. She had a cool little Pistol Pete table-top neon light in her window, which she turned on after an OSU win. Except when I paid closer attention, I noticed that she didn't always light it when OSU won. She basically only lit it when OSU won AND OU lost. Now that type of "fan"? That's straight pathetic.

I honestly have never run across a single OU fan who acted that way, though I'm sure some of them exist south of the Red River, with their hate focused on Texas.

Why are all of you OU folks so opposed to higher ticket prices? The football should support the "school." There are school where all season tix require a donation to the school.

This is symptomatic of the fan base comprised mostly of people who didn't attend college... Let alone the Univ of Oklahoma.

You have got to be kidding me. Unbelievable.

^^^^^^^
Haha, much better response than mine.

Also, I hate it when I bite on your obvious trolling, Spartan. ;)

H
Why are all of you OU folks so opposed to higher ticket prices? The football should support the "school." There are school where all season tix require a donation to the school.

This is symptomatic of the fan base comprised mostly of people who didn't attend college... Let alone the Univ of Oklahoma.

You do understand that OU does not take money from the school now, right? They are one of the few who doesn't TAKE money. And, their endowment for the rest of the school hasn't suffered either. Boren has always stressed donors supporting the academic side first. That's one of the reason the stadium fund raising was delayed over the past few years. Let's see OSU or others follow that lead.

Why are all of you OU folks so opposed to higher ticket prices? The football should support the "school." There are school where all season tix require a donation to the school.

This is symptomatic of the fan base comprised mostly of people who didn't attend college... Let alone the Univ of Oklahoma.
Typical OU hater. Go find you a reindeer and do something you know something about.

Why are all of you OU folks so opposed to higher ticket prices? The football should support the "school." There are school where all season tix require a donation to the school.

This is symptomatic of the fan base comprised mostly of people who didn't attend college... Let alone the Univ of Oklahoma.

Obviously an ignorant post. Last time I checked, OU is one of seven schools in the nation whose football program makes money and gives back to academics. OSU is not one of those seven.

Easily the most annoying argument from OSU fans. Only sh%t they can come up with b/c they can't beat us. He obviously had no idea what he was talking about in Big XII discussion, so now he just has to hate b/c he's bitter.

Typical OU hater. Go find you a reindeer and do something you know something about.

Whoa. This isn't LandThieves... Calm down.

OU football gives several million dollars each year to OU academics. (I believe its 6 to 8 million each year)... This tradition of giving back to the university’s academics goes back to the 1950’s that I know of.

Contrast that to how OSU athletics takes several million dollars from state tax payers and then makes it very difficult for OU fans to attend the game in its stadium.

Our state should cut off this welfare until osu changes its ticket policy for OU fans

Wow, people sure get salty about football.

So, I was having a discussion with a coworker and I wanted to throw this out to see what really is going to happen. I was under the impression that the entire south endzone was going to be torn down and rebuilt because the angle between the south endzone and east and west endzones in different. Also, isn't the entire west side upper deck going to be torn down and rebuilt? Just making sure I understand it correctly.

That's all correct but they put it into phases so this phase 1 is just the south end zone/weight room/locker room and such. And new score board.