OU Regents will vote on$160 million football stadium project

[Soonerheart]

The money needed for this phase of the project has been identified and phase 1 will start after the season…..I hope the reporters will ask about the timing of other phases.

http://www.ou.edu/regents/official_a...inalAgenda.pdf

A vigorous project design effort has been underway through the fall and winter.
The south stadium work, which comprises the initial construction phase, includes adding new seating
at the southeast and southwest corners of the stadium to complete the seating bowl. Also
included are expansion and improvements to football and other sports programs' team facilities
and support spaces as well as improvements to game day facilities and amenities to significantly
improve the game day experience for patrons and fans attending events at the stadium. An
expanded concourse, additional restrooms, and new concession areas will support the additional
seating. Two large fan plazas within the south seating bowl will also be constructed for use by
all fans.

Work at the south end zone of the stadium includes the creation of offices and support
spaces for the football coaching and support staff; a new football team locker room,
restroom/shower facility and therapy pools; new football team meeting rooms; new football team
equipment room and laundry facilities; new strength and conditioning and sports medicine
facilities serving all student-athletes; and a new loading dock facility serving the entire stadium.

Also included in the south end zone project is the construction of 22 new suites; 58 new loge
boxes with seating to accommodate approximately 300 persons; approximately 2,000 new club
seats; two new clubs for patrons seated in the new suites, loge boxes and club seats; a new
Sooner Vision video board and sound system serving the entire stadium; and a new Legends
Lobby space to highlight the history and accomplishments of the intercollegiate football
program. THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA March 10, 2015
19.1
The estimated project cost for this initial phase of construction is approximately
$160,000,000. Funding for this project phase has been identified and is available from Athletics
Department capital funds; bond funds; and other sources.

 

[Soonerheart]

It seems as if the demise of the stadium project may have been a tad overstated by some reports……?

But it will still be important to proceed with the other phases of stadium improvements.

The good news is that the first phase is the most important part to recruits….
This should help OU recruit better players and give the coaches an opportunity to field better teams.

This post was edited on 3/7 2:05 PM by Soonerheart

 

[Soonerheart]

Oil was by far the most significant factor in what in the cut back of the OU stadium plans.


The people in power at OU need to far better understand the OIL and NG markets…. We also need the local sport media to far more fully understand its huge impact that OIL & NG has on OU sports.
It's one thing to know this, it's another to fully understand why.

http://newsok.com/ou-board-of-regents-approves-updated-stadium-renovation-plan/article/5400163

"In one week, when half the net worth of our major donors was wiped out by the fallen oil prices," OU President David Boren said of when he started realizing there could be a problem. "You know you are sitting there and someone is worth so many million dollars and three days later, they are worth half that - that's exactly what happened to a lot of our major donors and supporters. Also, then you look at what it does to the rest of the economy, what it does to the rest of the university. So we had to take that into account immediately."