University Town Center

[BG918]

I was just in Oxford for the OU-Ole Miss game and was able to see the SJB Pavilion which has a capacity of 9,500 and was completed for $96.5M in 2016. It is right next to the football stadium on-campus on what was formerly a parking lot (sound familiar?). This and Auburn are great examples for OU to follow from fellow SEC schools in towns smaller than Norman.

[Pete]

Those schools have been getting the big SEC money for decades and also built those facilities before hundreds of millions had to be steered to NIL.

Completely different situations.

[jedicurt]

Ole Miss has had great student attendance to games, even when they were not good, for decades. OU doesn't fit that.

[BG918]

Ole Miss has had great student attendance to games, even when they were not good, for decades. OU doesn't fit that.

After my trip to Ole Miss this past weekend it is obvious OU has a long way to go to being even on the same tier as SEC schools. And I'm not talking about football. Tailgating, student section, fan energy, campus environment, Campus Corner/downtown bars and restaurants, all of it is significantly better in Oxford. It's going to take years (if not decades) and lots of money to change Norman. We are nowhere near "SEC ready".

[jedicurt]

After my trip to Ole Miss this past weekend it is obvious OU has a long way to go to being even on the same tier as SEC schools. And I'm not talking about football. Tailgating, student section, fan energy, campus environment, Campus Corner/downtown bars and restaurants, all of it is significantly better in Oxford. It's going to take years (if not decades) and lots of money to change Norman. We are nowhere near "SEC ready".

i completely agree.... i thought so a few years ago when it was all announced. and why i want to improve facilities to be the best they can be. so if the options are building the UNP arena, or waiting 2 more decades for a new arena, i would rather the UNP and we build that new energy around it. otherwise, we will be 2-3 decades behind

[Jersey Boss]

i completely agree.... i thought so a few years ago when it was all announced. and why i want to improve facilities to be the best they can be. so if the options are building the UNP arena, or waiting 2 more decades for a new arena, i would rather the UNP and we build that new energy around it. otherwise, we will be 2-3 decades behind

This is a failure on the part of the Athletic Director and OU.
JC got here in 97 and inherited a LNC that was already over 20 years old. What has he done in his tenure in regards to supporting the basketball program? Statue of Wayman? Naming the court or acknowledging Billy?
Why have the politically connected regents not used that influence for upgrades from the state?
OU is in this position from their own inaction, and to expect Norman to bail them out is nuts.
We are already a couple decades behind. No small thanks to the OU administration.
Based on conversations with neighbors, this vote in Feb, will be a wakeup call for OU and Larry the mayor.

[bison34]

This is a failure on the part of the Athletic Director and OU.
JC got here in 97 and inherited a LNC that was already over 20 years old. What has he done in his tenure in regards to supporting the basketball program? Statue of Wayman? Naming the court or acknowledging Billy?
Why have the politically connected regents not used that influence for upgrades from the state?
OU is in this position from their own inaction, and to expect Norman to bail them out is nuts.
We are already a couple decades behind. No small thanks to the OU administration.
Based on conversations with neighbors, this vote in Feb, will be a wakeup call for OU and Larry the mayor.

Those cities actually get support from their city, though. Norman acts like they don't want OU to succeed. If Ozu moved to OKC, Norman would die (probably for the best, honestly).

They don't try to compromise with OU, they act like OU is a burden. I hope and pray Norman gets what's coming to them.

[cinnamonjock]

They're not going to just abandon the norman campus and move to OKC. The only thing they've threatened to do is put the basketball/gymnastics arena outside the city limits; presumably in OKC or a nearby suburb. I'm not anti-UNP arena, but if the games are as sparsely attended as everyone says they are, then what's really the harm?

[bison34]

They're not going to just abandon the norman campus and move to OKC. The only thing they've threatened to do is put the basketball/gymnastics arena outside the city limits; presumably in OKC or a nearby suburb. I'm not anti-UNP arena, but if the games are as sparsely attended as everyone says they are, then what's really the harm?

I know they won't. I'm not foolish enough to think that. But I wish they could, and show Norman that Norman needs OU much more than OU needs Norman, in the long run.

But the arena should move to Moore, since students don't go to games anyway, and likely wouldn't even if the arena was closer. Basically take that whole Norman development and put it in Moore.