Upcoming Event: Football versus UTEP on September 4, 2026 at 7 p.m. CT
7 p.m. CT
Football
vs UTEP
.png&width=40&height=40&type=webp)
.png&width=40&height=40&type=webp)
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Castiglione Conducts Stadium Tour
July 31, 2003 | Football
Oklahoma A.D. Joe Castiglione:
We are in the final stages of completing a very ambitious project. If you were around covering this back in the fall of 2000 you heard about the idea that we hatched to renovate the stadium as well as expand its capacity. And of course all of us in athletics always like to do things quickly -- were measured that way.
To embark on such a complicated project, one that involves evaluating the condition of an eighty-year-old structure -- the steps that need to be taken to improve the current amenities that we provide as well as try to move us into this new stage that people that have stadiums and arenas have to face.
Suites, club seats and of course, for our case, expanded seating because we had and still do have a great demand for our tickets. We wanted to try and get it done prior to the 2003 season so you can imagine there is a great deal of work to accomplish in the design alone. And then to think about construction, which projects of this type generally take 24 maybe to 36 months and so we had the best people involved in the design and planning and of course now we believe that here in the construction.
People with HOK, the architectural firm, could not be here today, but they will be here when we bring you back later in the month of August, but we have two great guys who have been point people for us. That are in the back of the room with Flintco construction, Randy and J.D., and they will be here to answer and technical questions. I also want to really thank my staff who have worked on this project, it has taken everyones focus, but probably no one person has spent more time on a job site than Larry Naifeh, the executive associate athletic director.
Together we are trying to determine how many pairs of shoes we have ruined. Pants, slacks, shirts we have thrown away by going through these job sites over the last 18 months. And all the time weve had to deal with a variety of issues, but actually opportunities because we were very well aware of what the university wanted to accomplish and other projects such as the construction of the parking garage which is on the west side. Some major utility relocation projects and the enormous projects that actually took place just prior to the major stages of the construction on the east side.
I also want to give credit to our architectural engineering services, Mike Morman and David Nordike especially and their staff because they have been so good to work with. You cant do as much as were doing around the campus here at the University of Oklahoma without great communication and coordination. If you have been through campus anytime in the last year and half and if youve been through even in the last hour and a half you see there are construction projects going on all over this campus incredible, spectacular construction projects that obviously take a lot of coordination. These things dont happen easily.
I think that it is important to recognize how lucky we are to have so many people working together. That fact sheet the package that we provided you lists what we attempted in the first phase. There are so many special parts of it that are going to want to look at, the seating capacity, suites, obvious the enormous structure on the east side.
There are so many little details that you can draw your attention to through out this process, I dont think we could have fully comprehended, how much it would take to get certain parts done. You can only develop a certain amount of information from drawings and construction bids to sort of picture how things will look with renderings. But you think about the immense number of bricks that were needed to complete this project ... that is incredible.
Obviously it has taken a lot of people to get that done in a quality way. We will remind you that all of our designs focus has come from what we call a classic or maybe even a timeless perspective. We are unique in a sense that very few universities have their football stadium or a daunting structure like a football stadium in the very heart of campus.
Very few have stadiums that complement the architecture that surrounds such a structure. Ours did but only to a very small degree and so everything that we have done here is not only to improve the quality of the stadium, the structure, the capacity, the amenities all of that, but we tried to do that with a eye on the design on the rest of campus so it really complements or fits in with our historical architecture.
In fact, one of the great complements that I received just last week when some people were here from out of state were looking at the development and progress of the stadium was a really in the form of a question and the person posed it like this. She said, Can you tell me how much of it was here before and how much of it is new? I said that is all you had to tell me. And really that made me feel good that it was hard for them to really determine what was really in place before, that is the way that we like it.
From the Architects:
Influenced by the gothic architecture of the University of Oklahoma campus, the expansion and renovation of Memorial Stadium was an opportunity to weave together the disparate architectural language of the existing building into a cohesive whole. The prominent use of brick and cast stone reinforces the campus connection, while key features such as the north clock and east towers create a memorable building image. Home to one of the most storied teams in collegiate football history, Memorial Stadium has strengthened its legacy as one of the premiere collegiate football facilities in the country.
We are in the final stages of completing a very ambitious project. If you were around covering this back in the fall of 2000 you heard about the idea that we hatched to renovate the stadium as well as expand its capacity. And of course all of us in athletics always like to do things quickly -- were measured that way.
To embark on such a complicated project, one that involves evaluating the condition of an eighty-year-old structure -- the steps that need to be taken to improve the current amenities that we provide as well as try to move us into this new stage that people that have stadiums and arenas have to face.
Suites, club seats and of course, for our case, expanded seating because we had and still do have a great demand for our tickets. We wanted to try and get it done prior to the 2003 season so you can imagine there is a great deal of work to accomplish in the design alone. And then to think about construction, which projects of this type generally take 24 maybe to 36 months and so we had the best people involved in the design and planning and of course now we believe that here in the construction.
People with HOK, the architectural firm, could not be here today, but they will be here when we bring you back later in the month of August, but we have two great guys who have been point people for us. That are in the back of the room with Flintco construction, Randy and J.D., and they will be here to answer and technical questions. I also want to really thank my staff who have worked on this project, it has taken everyones focus, but probably no one person has spent more time on a job site than Larry Naifeh, the executive associate athletic director.
Together we are trying to determine how many pairs of shoes we have ruined. Pants, slacks, shirts we have thrown away by going through these job sites over the last 18 months. And all the time weve had to deal with a variety of issues, but actually opportunities because we were very well aware of what the university wanted to accomplish and other projects such as the construction of the parking garage which is on the west side. Some major utility relocation projects and the enormous projects that actually took place just prior to the major stages of the construction on the east side.
I also want to give credit to our architectural engineering services, Mike Morman and David Nordike especially and their staff because they have been so good to work with. You cant do as much as were doing around the campus here at the University of Oklahoma without great communication and coordination. If you have been through campus anytime in the last year and half and if youve been through even in the last hour and a half you see there are construction projects going on all over this campus incredible, spectacular construction projects that obviously take a lot of coordination. These things dont happen easily.
I think that it is important to recognize how lucky we are to have so many people working together. That fact sheet the package that we provided you lists what we attempted in the first phase. There are so many special parts of it that are going to want to look at, the seating capacity, suites, obvious the enormous structure on the east side.
There are so many little details that you can draw your attention to through out this process, I dont think we could have fully comprehended, how much it would take to get certain parts done. You can only develop a certain amount of information from drawings and construction bids to sort of picture how things will look with renderings. But you think about the immense number of bricks that were needed to complete this project ... that is incredible.
Obviously it has taken a lot of people to get that done in a quality way. We will remind you that all of our designs focus has come from what we call a classic or maybe even a timeless perspective. We are unique in a sense that very few universities have their football stadium or a daunting structure like a football stadium in the very heart of campus.
Very few have stadiums that complement the architecture that surrounds such a structure. Ours did but only to a very small degree and so everything that we have done here is not only to improve the quality of the stadium, the structure, the capacity, the amenities all of that, but we tried to do that with a eye on the design on the rest of campus so it really complements or fits in with our historical architecture.
In fact, one of the great complements that I received just last week when some people were here from out of state were looking at the development and progress of the stadium was a really in the form of a question and the person posed it like this. She said, Can you tell me how much of it was here before and how much of it is new? I said that is all you had to tell me. And really that made me feel good that it was hard for them to really determine what was really in place before, that is the way that we like it.
From the Architects:
Influenced by the gothic architecture of the University of Oklahoma campus, the expansion and renovation of Memorial Stadium was an opportunity to weave together the disparate architectural language of the existing building into a cohesive whole. The prominent use of brick and cast stone reinforces the campus connection, while key features such as the north clock and east towers create a memorable building image. Home to one of the most storied teams in collegiate football history, Memorial Stadium has strengthened its legacy as one of the premiere collegiate football facilities in the country.
| Total Number of Brick: | 1.1 Million |
| Including Parking Garage: | 1.4 Million |
| Total Number of Stone Pieces: | 7,292 |
| Cubic Yards of Concrete: | 16,376 |
| Tons of Rebar: | 1,700 |
| Height of East Side: | 154' |
| Height of Press Box: | 168' |
| Square Footage of Glass: | Approx. 20,000 sq. feet |
| Electrical Conduit: | 36 Miles |
| Electrical Wiring & Cable: | 170 Miles |
| Number of Light Fixtures: | 4,142 |
Notable Details:
Expanded east and north concourses
Added concourse amenities
27 new suites
Two-level club lounge and club seating
New upper deck with chairback seating
New north entry and renovated north facade
Renovated Athletics Department offices
New perimeter fencing
Replaced all existing stadium seats
Brick added to existing field wall
New signage throughout stadium
Refurbished press box
New veterans memorial
New north side donor paving
New north and south scoreboards
| Stadium Capacity: | Approximately 81,000 |
| New Seats: | 7,672 |
| New Suite Seats: | 486 |
| New Club Seats: | 2,200 |
| New Club Mezzanine Seats: | 486 |
| New Upper Deck Seats: | 4,500 |
Architects:
HOK Sport + Venue + Event
Contractor:
Flintco, Inc.
Major Subcontractors:
Advanced Masonry - Oklahoma City
Amundsen Food Equipment - Oklahoma City
Connelly Paving - Oklahoma City
Coreslab Structures - Oklahoma City
Dolese Bros. - Oklahoma City
Ford Audio - Oklahoma City & Tulsa
Gary's Concrete Sawing - Norman
Dant Clayton - Kentucky
Hussey Seating - Maine
Masterpiece Painting - Edmond
Matherly Mechanical - Midwest City
MDC Drywall - Oklahoma City
Metro Masonry - Newcastle
Midwest Wrecking - Edmond
Oklahoma Roofing - Oklahoma City
Precision Casework - Oklahoma City
Shawver Electric - Oklahoma City
Structural Stone - Oklahoma City
Tile Me - Norman
Tulsa Steel - Tulsa
Western Waterproofing - Oklahoma City
Tepco Window Systems - Dallas
[ View Photo Gallery ]
Thursday, June 25
Monday, June 22
Monday, May 18
Thursday, April 30
