A rendering of the reimaged Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. (Photo by Populous)
The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents recently approved a proposal from the OU Athletics department that will allow work to go forward on a planned $370-million renovation and modernization of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
But unlike most projects of this scale and scope, the goal is not necessarily to make room for more patrons. In fact, the massive project will hardly increase capacity at all. So, what’s behind this facelift?
For one thing: enclosing the south end of the stadium to form a continuous bowl.
“There were elements that were becoming necessary for the student athlete experience and use of the facilities connected to the stadium, the football program housed in the stadium and also the strength and conditioning and sports medicine facilities connected to the stadium,” explained Executive Associate Athletic Director Larry Naifeh of the timing of the plan. “Those elements needed to continue to provide everything we need to provide for our students and it was becoming apparent to us that our West side and the press box facility on that side are 40-plus years old and are not really capable of renovation.”
In considering options, Naifeh said it was clear that whatever changes were to be made had to be for the long term. So, after market studies and reviews of the fan experience, the plan addresses a number of different seating options, as well as amenities that will help keep the fan experience at a high level for years to come.
The new stadium master plan project – whose conceptual master plan was completed by Populous - is now up for ongoing review and approval by the OU Board of Regents. While universities like Texas A&M are spending $450 million on renovations that will expand seating to more than 100,000, OU Board of Regents chairman Tom Clark said his university is focusing on slightly different priorities. "The university stands for excellence, and the OU Board of Regents supports the plan of the Athletics Department to improve our stadium for players and fans," he said. "Our goal is to provide the best facility, not necessarily the biggest."
The Populous rendering will connect the south end zone of Owen Field to the east and west stands, bringing new seating options including suites and the first-ever loge-level boxes for Oklahoma fans as well as increased ADA accommodations, though no significant change in capacity. An increase of 43 restroom locations and 69 more points of sale for concessions are also in the plan, which will increase the square footage of the stadium’s south end zone with a 46,000-square-foot fan plaza and a covered upper concourse.
The facility's renovation will improve the fan experience, but not increase the capacity. (Photo by Populous)
With no seat increase, will this big plan pay for itself in the long run? “The concept is to make things better not necessarily bigger,” Naifeh said. “It’s a combination of a better experience for fans everywhere with things like more concessions and restrooms, widening some aisles and putting in handrails, adding concourses to increase amenities and access and flow to make the experience more enjoyable.” There will also be additional fan plazas with an obstructed view of the game where fans can have access to concessions, as well as other seating options ranging from benches to chairbacks and some club environments. At press time, Naifeh said it was too early to say what the potential increase in seating options would total.
Redevelopment work on the Barry Switzer Center will tack on an additional 50,000 square feet of new space for student-athletes, with weight rooms enlarged, to include a year-round 30,852-sq.-ft., high-performance training, conditioning and speed enhancement center.
Creating a continuous bowl is an idea that came up as the plan took shape. “There was some desire to do that just to intensify and unify the overall experience in the stadium with it enclosed and everybody being connected in that fashion,” said Naifeh. “The reality is that as we were developing it, that’s what we needed to do for our functional elements housed in the South end zone to be filled in. And if we’re going to fill them in, let’s put seats on them!”
The best part? No state-appropriated funds and no funds from student tuition will be used to pay for the $370-million project. A significant part of funding will come from private fundraising as well as bonds.
Naifeh said the current price includes both construction and professional services costs to support the project, which will come from revenues generated by athletics – either through private gifts or the ability to develop bonds payable by revenues generated by athletics in the stadium. The Board’s approval of the proposal allowed the athletic department to go out and begin soliciting the private funding.
Other improvements include: New escalators, 16 moving stairways and 18 new elevators, expanded concourses and fan cooling rooms, and a new west stadium concourse that will double the existing fan space.
The renovations will also include the reconstruction of media, broadcast and game operations areas on the west side of the facility, adding the latest technology and more than 32,000 square feet of new space, 60,000 square feet of university academic space inside the north end of the stadium, 11 new football position meeting rooms, new coaching offices and meeting spaces.
The construction also plans for a new main entrance to the OU Athletics administrative offices with a glass and brick façade and a new 8,750-square-foot video board for SoonerVision in the south end zone.
The current timeline for construction has groundbreaking beginning after the 2015 football season, wrapping before the 2015-2016 season begins. “Whatever it is, the timeline will be aggressive,” Naifeh said. “We’re not sure if we’ll do it in various phases or do the South and West renovation at the same time – it’s contingent on the funding.”
Interviewed for this story: Tom Clark, (405) 325-0311; Larry Naifeh, (405) 325-8241