Looking good! Thanks to everyone posting pictures here.
https://twitter.com/Joseph_Duarte/status/853292060048326656
https://twitter.com/ShockTheWorldPC/status/853317860717940736
https://twitter.com/coogdave/status/853338183827902464
https://twitter.com/UHFootballFeed/status/853354197395398656
Very disappointing that they’re ruining the downtown view with this. Surely it could’ve been built somewhere else on campus?
From what’s coming out, it sounds like they had to make a quick decision to placate our former coach. They picked that spot because when the stadium is expanded, the hole will be enclosed anyway and the view will be lost.
The hope was that the stadium would be expanded due to admission to the Big 12…which didn’t happen.
Are you sure? From what I remember, even the 60k expansion blueprints left that hole open.
Edit: Here’s an early mockup of the 60k expansion. Unless plans have changed, the hole for the skyline was supposed to stay.
Early mock ups change. If we expand, it makes sense to fill out the 200 level bowl first before building the grandstand to the heavens.
I’m just speaking broadly and to no one in particular, but please, I’m begging, stop complaining about a view. Our facilities are soon to be on par with pretty much anyone.
Things can change, but Jeremiah Dickey during the season last year said that the stadium would be completely enclosed if expanded to 60K. I’m not sure if there is an updated drawing of what the stadium would look like at this point, but I believe there may be one or two floating around from when the expansion drama was going on.
Dickey is gone though and things can change since we won’t be expanding immediately, however, with the IPF going up where it is, it doesn’t really make sense to keep the opening.
I have to agree with you. My seats are close to this location, and I love taking a peek towards the skyline of downtown. Kind of disappointing.
But hey, if it helps take recruiting & the football program to a much higher level, I’m all for it. Need to neutralize things by not being in a P5 conference. Also, the new football coaches building is about to break ground once the new football practice facility is done in the fall. That one should be ready by Summer '18.
I’ve actually heard that the expansion will be much more complicated than it seems. Like what basically happens is that the long sides are taken off down to the lower concourse, the press boxes change sides and then they put what we currently have above the press box on both sides but much taller then the two ends get almost an entire other level to put them at close to the same height as the long sides, this was information that I received from a person in athletics. I think there is a really really old thread where someone photoshopped a version of that on to the existing stadium to show what it would look like if you feel like finding that.
That sounds about right. Except for the press box changing sides, that matches up with the blueprint I posted above.
This is just hideous to me.
With the view gone, we should:
- Replace even more benches with chair back seating.
- Fill in the gap, adding about 1000 seats.
- Build out the West EZ operations center
- Ring the field with ribbon boards (coming soon)
- Put another auxiliary video board in the NE corner
- Add some elevators and perhaps escalators
In other words, make it as nice as we can a little over 40,000.
If we ever get into a bigger league and have the demand, we can go to 50,000 pretty easily with a 300 level in the East EZ and expanding the 300 level on the North side.
But that’s about the max. A 60K stadium would be too big on the north side.
Agree 100%, CougarRed. Good ideas.
I’d prefer just filling in the gaps with the ability of walking around the upper deck without having to go down the equivalent of five flights of stairs, walk around and go back up five flights of stairs. A second level of concessions and bathrooms on the visitor side would be nice too.
We don’t need 60k without being in a P5 conference. Just need to cover that gap now. It will look hideous with the new practice facility there.
I’m less concerned at the view of the gap than I am of what I’ll be seeing on the field. That is the view that puts butts in seats. Speaking of which, about a week to go to renew your season tickets.
The people that say this haven’t seen the finished product.
That sucks Jimmy. Maybe upgrade seats.