^

Notice he doesn't mention bowling in the south endzone.

Probably just an oversight.
It's not being bowled in.

If you stop and think about it, we're spending hundreds of millions of dollars for buildings that get used for their intended purposes 6-7 times per year.

And how much money dies the university raise during those 7 home games? You're talking about 100's of millions. OU football and basketball are one of the main reasons that OU 's academics have grown in the last 20 years. A great athletic department means more out if state students, more donations and more exposure. The investment into the cash cow, that is OU football, is a very smart investment for the long term and broad spectrum of the university. Endowments go up as the universities athletics continue to succeed.

It's not being bowled in.

How do you know this with certainty?

I guess we'll find out conclusively tomorrow.

This would be very disappointing if true IMHO. Bowling in the South End Zone is the part I was most excited about. Hopefully, this report isn't accurate.

This is like having a wet dream on your honeymoon.

Disappointment is an understatement. You're going to spend roughly $350 million and not at least bowl the south end zone? Seating capacity will probably be reduced. Someone please tell me that the fundraising figures' changed?

We're expecting to have a championship contender for the next two-three years. This is a ticket scalper's paradise; they will be driving in from New Jersey and California to take advantage of this situation.


http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif "Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif

How do you know this with certainty?

I guess we'll find out conclusively tomorrow.

Not really certain but:

"sources have told ESPN.com that the project will aim to create better and more comfortable seating throughout the stadium, as opposed to substantially increasing its seating capacity of 82,000"

Schools aiming to improve fan amenities - Big 12 Blog - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/85809/schools-aiming-to-improve-fan-amenities)

Where will the new suites go?

Hoping they don't get rid of the Santee lounge and the donor chair back seats right below it.

I don't think we need to add more regular seats. I actually think attendance overall will start going down out at sporting events in the next 15 years. I think more and more people are just preferring to stay home

How many more seats would bowling in the south endzone really add? I don't think very many. Unless this rendering is old, or false, it looks bowled-in to me:
http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/oustadium.jpg

I guess we'll know more after today's meeting of the regents.

In that image above, the top is clearly an architectural rendering, complete with labels. The second one looks to be part of the same presentation, but that may have been just one of several concepts and could have been rejected.

The image of the west upper deck looks very much like what has been already described in the press so these do seem to be somewhat valid.

Just announced: The South End Zone will be bowled in. Design looks fantastic.

8353

Wow!


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou1.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou2.jpg

Wow!

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou1.jpg

So, if I am seeing this correctly, they will be adding on to the north as well. Seems like the only area that will go untouched will be the east side.

Where will the new suites go?

Hoping they don't get rid of the Santee lounge and the donor chair back seats right below it.

I don't think we need to add more regular seats. I actually think attendance overall will start going down out at sporting events in the next 15 years. I think more and more people are just preferring to stay home

Looks like there will be suites in the south endzone.

Better than I had imagined. So the new suites are in the south end, new offices on the north end, and the whole west side is being essentially rebuilt. That's quite the rebuild; now I understand where the $450 million is going.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou3.jpg

Looks like all the seats on the west side over the overhang will be gone as well as the santee lounge.

I don't like it. Some people need to sit in the shade, this has zero shade

tGR72NqlCOU

I would love to see more renderings for the weight room, players lounges, etc because that is where we are really going to wow recruits.

I like it.

Looks to me like this is an *ingenious* design that wraps the new pressbox/suites/3rd tier around the *existing* upper deck. From what I can tell, I have to disagree with the idea that seats on the west deck overhang are being lost - it looks the same as it always has to me, with the upper structure "wrapped around" it.

I love the south endzone design, too. This has rockstar quality written all over it.

Let's start building today.

:)

Looks like all the seats on the west side over the overhang will be gone as well as the santee lounge.

I don't like it. Some people need to sit in the shade, this has zero shade

All the early season games are at night. Then first game back is OCT 18 against KState. Wont need the shade by then.
And in all honesty, if you are worried about if you are going to be in shade or not, should probably stay home and watch on TV with a cold one

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou11.jpg[/center]

The weight room was only 8,535? Going to just over 30,000 is great. It will be interesting to see what that goes in to.

The weight room was only 8,535? Going to just over 30,000 is great. It will be interesting to see what that goes in to.

Remember, there is a separate one in the indoor practice facility that Roy Williams donated.

Is the middle section on the west side going to be club level tickets too?

This view shows how the west upper deck will look from the outside; an important perspective because it's the tallest structure on campus and can be seen from miles away:





Unless they are raising it up, I think Sarkeys is still technically taller since they didn't want athletics to appear more important than academics. Or some cheesy recruiting tag line like that. I think difference is only like a foot or something. :)

Here are high-quality images. I'll delete the crappy ones I posted earlier:



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou100.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou101.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou102.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou103.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou104.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou105.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou106.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou107.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou108.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou109.jpg

Gotta admire the appearance of it. I wonder how it'll end up looking on the horizon from elsewhere in Norman.

This is completely awesome! Totally exceeds my fantasy expectations! Boomer!

I bet they raise the $370 million in no time flat.

Easy to get behind such a beautiful and needed project.

More:



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou110.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou111.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou112.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou113.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou114.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou115.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou116.jpg

Pretty impressive, it will be fun to watch this project rise starting after the 2015 season. What will the new seating capacity be?

The article mentions new food and concession stands. I hope they look at local places to operate these, like Ray's or Van's BBQ, The Garage burgers, Tarahumara's Mexican, The Earth sandwiches/smoothies, etc. More variety of food and drinks would be a major improvement and especially if they are mostly local would be unique to OU.

Is there a rendering showing the west side that faces campus?

Pretty impressive, it will be fun to watch this project rise starting after the 2015 season. What will the new seating capacity be?

The article mentions new food and concession stands. I hope they look at local places to operate these, like Ray's or Van's BBQ, The Garage burgers, Tarahumara's Mexican, The Earth sandwiches/smoothies, etc. More variety of food and drinks would be a major improvement and especially if they are mostly local would be unique to OU.

Is there a rendering showing the west side that faces campus?

I don't think the concessions will change to local business renting spots.

I believe capacity is going to change very little.

Adding to the east deck, subtracting from the south end zone.

They are also saying the new video board atop the south EZ will be the largest in college football.

I apologize if this offends any OSU fans on the board but OSU fans in my office are already talking about OU "catching up with OSU" by doing this. I guess I don't consider it catching up when OU has sold out every home football game for the entire Stoops tenure and OSU sells out one game a season. The weight room, players lounge area is only area where I think OU was really lacking and needed an upgrade to improve recruiting, but other than that, OU was not that far off of most of the other teams in the country. People have no idea what goes in to something like this, the time, money, politics, etc. Like it should have happened over night.

This is absolutely fabulous. It's surprising, in a good way, that OU went with quality over quantity. It seems that everyone wants a 90,000 or 100,000 seat stadium, but I'd prefer the way things are being done here. Brava Sooners!

Just tell them OU isn't catching up to OSU - it's passing OSU. That should piss them off on the inside. If you really want to get them going, tell them that OU is lapping them.

From the look I would bet that capacity goes up to 86k or so. With attendance close to 90.

One of the interesting things is that the big standards with the huge banks of lights in the four corners will be replaced with thin strips along the top of both upper decks.

I'm sure that's a function of new technology around LED/HID lighting and looks way more sleek.

From the look I would bet that capacity goes up to 86k or so. With attendance close to 90.

They are adding concourses over both the north and south EZ's and I bet they sell a good number of standing room tickets when there is the demand.

I apologize if this offends any OSU fans on the board but OSU fans in my office are already talking about OU "catching up with OSU" by doing this. I guess I don't consider it catching up when OU has sold out every home football game for the entire Stoops tenure and OSU sells out one game a season. The weight room, players lounge area is only area where I think OU was really lacking and needed an upgrade to improve recruiting, but other than that, OU was not that far off of most of the other teams in the country. People have no idea what goes in to something like this, the time, money, politics, etc. Like it should have happened over night.

People really care about this stuff?

It's just a football stadium. OU has a nice one and OSU has a nice one. I work for OU, went to OU and enjoy watching the games. Do I feel the need to say one or the other is "catching up" or inferior? I am happy we have two good teams in Oklahoma and it creates a fun rivalry. No reason for people to be nasty about a game they invest very little in.

Wow! This totally exceeded my expectations.

Joe and Boren aren't idiots. It is very smart to choose quality over quantity (seating capacity).

People really care about this stuff?

It's just a football stadium. OU has a nice one and OSU has a nice one. I work for OU, went to OU and enjoy watching the games. Do I feel the need to say one or the other is "catching up" or inferior? I am happy we have two good teams in Oklahoma and it creates a fun rivalry. No reason for people to be nasty about a game they invest very little in.

Yes they do... You just answered your question for yourself, it's a rivalry in and outside of football. Now that OSU actually has some legs to stand on in it, both in facilities and athletic success outside sports that no one cares about, I fully expect there to be some good ribbing of one another on both sides. It's all in good fun until someone gets their balls ripped off at Henry Hudson's.

People really care about this stuff?

It's just a football stadium. OU has a nice one and OSU has a nice one. I work for OU, went to OU and enjoy watching the games. Do I feel the need to say one or the other is "catching up" or inferior? I am happy we have two good teams in Oklahoma and it creates a fun rivalry. No reason for people to be nasty about a game they invest very little in.

I know. The first thing I thought of when I saw the renderings is how cool this will be for the fans, recruits, students, etc and it will show that OU is willing to spend money on things while not necessarily increasing capacity. The first thing a few of my coworkers who are OSU fans said was, "$370 million?!?!? Guess they are just trying to get on par with OSU! Ha!" It blows me away...

Just tell them OU isn't catching up to OSU - it's passing OSU. That should piss them off on the inside. If you really want to get them going, tell them that OU is lapping them.

But they do have 592 National Championships in Wrasslin!

Interesting observation - for years we've heard and understood that the rake angle of the S. endzone was different from that of the rest of the stadium, but these renderings to me clearly show the structure all matched up - combined with the top of the south endzone now matching the rest of the stadium as well (where presently it is several rows taller). Question: Does this mean the current S. Endzone structure is going to get dozed or just heavily rebuilt?

(And on a totally unrelated aside - couldn't care less if someone things we're 'catching up' to anyone else. This is going to be one of the premier facilities in all of CFB. If someone thinks theirs is better, meh.)

Pretty bitter sweet.. Looks like our season tickets on the 70th row of the south end zone are going away!

Interesting observation - for years we've heard and understood that the rake angle of the S. endzone was different from that of the rest of the stadium, but these renderings to me clearly show the structure all matched up - combined with the top of the south endzone now matching the rest of the stadium as well (where presently it is several rows taller). Question: Does this mean the current S. Endzone structure is going to get dozed or just heavily rebuilt?
(And on a totally unrelated aside - couldn't care less if someone things we're 'catching up' to anyone else. This is going to be one of the premier facilities in all of CFB. If someone thinks theirs is better, meh.)

That was my understanding along with rebuilding the Swtizer Center to the east and west instead of between the stadium and Lindsey.

I doubt they scrape the entire south EZ structure because they just spent a fortune on a new locker room.

I assume they will knock down most of it then add back on around the locker rooms and maybe some offices.

That was my understanding along with rebuilding the Swtizer Center to the east and west instead of between the stadium and Lindsey.

That's my understanding as well. The current seating in the south endzone will be removed and a new structure will replace it.

Looks like all the seats on the west side over the overhang will be gone as well as the santee lounge.

I don't like it. Some people need to sit in the shade, this has zero shade

I still see the overhang over the club seats by the Santee Lounge.

I think this ends up adding 6-8k seats.

Lord I hope not.

Phenomenal to think of how things/times have changed, especially when looking at how the thrust of these upgrades are aimed at the overall fan and student experience, not merely just structure to add seats. For me, this is in marked contrast to the era when I grew up (in the 1970's) and the STEP program to add the current west upper deck, pressbox, and (then) new scoreboards were a MONUMENTAL upgrade. That it added 10K seats was the reason to do it, and I still have some pictures of the west deck structure (and the old red scoreboard) going up! Brick facades, architecture, design, aesthetic appeal, blah, none of that was a player then.

Now, though, what's going on inside is at least as if not more important than the structure itself. And that's cool, because investing in the interior arguably gives you longevity just a shell with some chairbacks doesn't.

You know who gets excited about this? Kids like my 18-year-old son, who just texted me a message asking me if I'd seen the "glorious" new pics of the stadium. He's stoked. :)

Here is another one that shows the new video board in the north end zone.

I suppose they'll just move the current one that is now in the south end.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/ou117.jpg

My god, that is going to be a beautiful and stunning building when it's done. I know they keep mentioning on the news that these renders are subject to change but wow I hope not. That is fantastic.

I have always loved the architecture at OU and really liked what they did to the north and east sides of the stadium.

Now, this will bring it all together inside and out and blend much better with the campus.

When I think about how much nicer the campus is now than when I was there in the early 80's, it almost defies belief.

I really wish they'd get commuter rail running between the Norman station (near Main) and downtown OKC to better link two of the best areas in the entire state.

I think this ends up adding 6-8k seats.

Didn't Joe Castiglione specifically say this wouldn't add seats?

Didn't Joe Castiglione specifically say this wouldn't add seats?

No

Didn't Joe Castiglione specifically say this wouldn't add seats?

He said that wasn't a goal but there might be a slight fluctuation one way or another due to all the rearranging.

There was a post on the OU Projects thread about Boren wanting to create residential colleges at OU; more or less like Headington Hall where each residential structure has apartments, faculty living there, there own dining and study facilities, etc.

Just announced these projects will go directly south of the stadium and west of Headington Hall.


Lets see here:

1. Massive stadium renovation on three sides
2. New residential colleges south of stadium
3. Scholars Walk to close off remaining street on South Oval
4. Bud House to be reworked
5. Lloyd Noble about to get a comprehensive makeover
6. South Campus with tons of projects
7. A bunch of smaller main campus projects like Hester Hall that I can't even keep track of

And this doesn't even count the Health Sciences Center.