Oklahoma regents approve stadium renovation

According to a May report from KWTV in Norman, Oklahoma, the University of Oklahoma was planning some significant upgrades to the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The renovations were estimated to cost between $350 and $400 million, and would begin after the 2014 season and hopefully finished before the 2015 season began.

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In late June, Oklahoma’s board of regents officially approved the renovations.

It wasn’t so long ago that Oklahoma renovated the east side of the stadium adding an upper deck, in these renovations they’ll close off the lower level of seating making a complete bowl, which means redoing the south side of the stadium which includes stand alone seats removed from the horseshoe of the rest of the lower bowl. That would increase the stadium’s capacity from 82,112 to nearly 88,000.

The press box located above the upped deck on the west side will also be renovated.

The renovations to the south end zone, according to the artist rendering below, would encroach on what is currently practice fields. The rendering makes it look like the practice fields located immediately to the south of the end zone would be gone. Oklahoma does have an indoor practice facility just to to the east of the stadium, less than 100 yards away so it isn’t necessarily a huge loss.

The release for the stadium’s renovations reminds us that the “Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Conceptual Master Plan is conceptual at this point” but talks about extensively about that new southern entrance.

From the release:

"A new main entrance to the OU Athletics administrative offices and a distinctive glass and brick façade will showcase a new south exterior of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. This signature addition to OU’s iconic home field will face Lindsey Street as the facility further embraces the traditional Cherokee Gothic architectural motif exemplified in other structures across the University of Oklahoma campus. The south end zone structure will be topped by a new 8,750-square foot video board for SoonerVision to display more replays, stats and other in-game multi-media entertainment than its current counterpart."

You can read more about the project and look at more renderings right here.