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I noticed that Northern Illinois is going to make a pretty big deal about this coming season being the 50th played in Huskie Stadium. They've developed a logo and everything.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/colleges/7/ ... rsary-logo" target="_blank

Next season (2016) will be the 50th anniversary of Doyt Perry Stadium.

Will we celebrate?

Will we know by then if there is any sort of plan for general upgrades?

Will the SIDs change the name to "venerable Doyt Perry Stadium"?

Good idea for a 50th Anniversary...need to unveil something pertaining to the 1959 National Title team. And get a statue of Doyt already.

I'd throw some coin towards a Doyt statue...and new faucets at the Doyt and Stroh.

Let them wash their hands!!!!! (sorry, it's a really big pet peeve of mine).

They've been pretty good with anniversaries (1959 team, 1984 hockey team, Falcon Club, etc.) it would be good to see something done for Perry Stadium. Maybe finally build that Jetsons press box....


A little OT, I noticed through some reading that this is the 100th season of men's basketball at BG, with next year being the 100th anniversary. That would definitely be worth a party, especially if the team continues its upward trend.

As I recall NIU was one of the few teams in the Mid West to have Astro Turf c. 1970

AZZZZ wrote:I'd throw some coin towards a Doyt statue...and new faucets at the Doyt and Stroh.

Agree we need a statue of Coach Doyt Perry at the Stadium.

(and move the Stroh Falcon up on top of the scoreboard at The Doyt for the Anniversary!!)

The anniversary at the Doyt will be celebrated with free burnt hot dogs and **hot chocolate.

**Only enough hot chocolate for the first 15 fans.

Also, upgrades will include dozens more peach bleachairs and a new tent awning for the Falcon Club. Paid for with ESPN money after agreeing to add a Tuesday afternoon game in September.

Falcon137 wrote:The anniversary at the Doyt will be celebrated with free burnt hot dogs and **hot chocolate.

**Only enough hot chocolate for the first 15 fans.

I laughed out loud at this.

You left out the free frostbite fans will get as a bonus when they wash their hands in the restrooms.

That was kind of what I was getting at with this thread. Many months back, there was talk about a study of some kind to think long term about the future of the stadium -- things like hot water heaters, more chairback seating, and you name it.

A 50th anniversary would be a good time to talk big picture about this kind of thing. But, if a study was done, the results do not seem to have emerged anywhere.

The guts of the Doyt...bathrooms, concessions, the actual concrete structure...have been in dire need of a redo for years. Every so often there's discussion about renovating vs new construction....factman's old buddy Greg Christopher even said fixing the Doyt was the next big project before he hightailed it out of here. 50th anniversary would be the perfect time to finally move forward. Is there any other 50 year old building on campus that hasn't been significantly reworked? Maybe Anderson arena?

I'm not an engineer, but my hunch is that it might make sense to address some of these issues someday by rebuilding one side.

Schadenfreude wrote:I'm not an engineer, but hunch is that it might make sense to address some of these issues someday by rebuilding one side.

50 years for an outdoor stadium is a long time, let alone one without any major upgrades to the actual structure.

I'm not sure what they do. Wasn't it found to need dire repairs, 3 or 4 years ago? It's not so much that it lacks modern amenities (though, those need upgraded also), it's that it lacks basic amenities. Food prep isn't sanitary and is not able to handle crowds, aisle and walkways are not adequate, bathrooms need upgraded. I know it's tough to justify spending that much on something used 15-20 times a year, but, if the university is going to be all in on football, it's time to make sure the stadium is too.

I'm honestly surprised something significant hasn't happened at the Doyt over the course of 50 years. With the brutal winters we've experienced and occasional hot summers, you'd figure that there would eventually be severe enough degradation to warrant immediate upgrades. Hopefully we'll hear something about this in the coming months since the stadium is past due some major renovations, outside of the Sebo.

The Doyt is a dead elephant. Time to start over. Maybe something 12-15 thousand.

zete wrote:The Doyt is a dead elephant. Time to start over. Maybe something 12-15 thousand.

I don't see the university building a new stadium, it would take a massive fundraising movement and would require a huge around of unused land which I don't think the university has, except for perhaps the intramural fields. Either way, something needs to happen soon as the Doyt is in dire need of some TLC.

Given the investment in the Sebo Center, Perry Field is pretty clearly where the Falcons will be playing football for the foreseeable future.