49 years of Doyt Perry Stadium

[MarkL]

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

Exactly. Renovate what we have ... or rebuild in the same place.
And I say rebuild because the structure of the stadium may be in truly bad shape - 50 years of freezing and thawing takes a toll on concrete. If the stadium were to be imploded and rebuilt, it takes a significant amount of time. If a rebuild is in order, the project would probably overlap with football season. We may have a year where only one side of the stadium is habitable, in which case we could bring back temporary seating in the south end zone.

[Falconfreak90]

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

Exactly. Renovate what we have ... or rebuild in the same place.
And I say rebuild because the structure of the stadium may be in truly bad shape - 50 years of freezing and thawing takes a toll on concrete. If the stadium were to be imploded and rebuilt, it takes a significant amount of time. If a rebuild is in order, the project would probably overlap with football season. We may have a year where only one side of the stadium is habitable, in which case we could bring back temporary seating in the south end zone.

That's how I see it. Rebuild one side at a time and make the stands steeper.

[RangerRocket]

Here's a thought...

[Schadenfreude]

That's how I see it. Rebuild one side at a time and make the stands steeper.

Yep. Steeper would be better.

[BGSU33]

That's how I see it. Rebuild one side at a time and make the stands steeper.

Yep. Steeper would be better.

I agree. The current grandstands at BG slope too far back without getting much height and you never fully get a good viewpoint by trying to go up higher. You rise up some but move back more. I would love, make that LOVE, to have a double deck like what Akron has built. And double deck doesn't mean more capacity. With how Akron designed its grandstands you essentially cut a grandstand in half and keep part low and tight and take the other and move it above and rise up. It's an excellent design! With that setup those who want to sit close to the field can do so in the lower level and those who like the higher viewpoint can have that too. Akron has the best stadium in the MAC by far and they certainly didn't cut corners when building that facility. Awesome seating with the decks, fieldhouse right beside the stadium which helps close in the north end, a beautiful press tower, very cool hillside, a concourse that wraps completely around the stadium, spacious concourses with concessions and restroom, and a really nice exterior facade. Hell even the fencing and exterior lighting is good. There are numerous Power Five schools that do not have as nice or as good of an overall facilty as Akron does. They might have bigger capacities, but Akron has one of the nicest stadiums in the country despite a smaller capacity. It's similar to Alabama State's new stadium (Akron has double decks on both sidelines, Alabama State has a double deck on the press tower side and a smaller grandstand on the other side) that we practiced in before the bowl that our coach and prayers were raving about.

Akron's football stadium and BG's basketball arena are the two newest major facilities in the MAC. BG's administration said we hit a "home run" with the Stroh. We did not. We hit a double. But Akron hit a "grand slam" with its football stadium. I have been to and toured every facility in the MAC and this one's the best and that's not even an opinion. That is what you do when you build new! Akron did it right. Hat's off to a Akron and it's administration, architects and everyone involved in planning that design and structure. Now, if ever the Akron football program catches up to its facilty, the rest of the MAC's in trouble. Fortunately they are still very far apart.

[jpfalcon09]

With the Sebo being attached to the east side stands, it makes it difficult to completely knock down the entire stadium seating and start over. I imagine any renovations done will be to replace the bleachers and fold down chairs, upgrade the press box and suites and patch up any areas of concern regarding the concrete. I hope I'm wrong if and when they decide to do something with the Doyt, but with the Sebo being there is kind of limits options of what can be done.

[Falcon137]

That's how I see it. Rebuild one side at a time and make the stands steeper.

Yep. Steeper would be better.

I agree. The current grandstands at BG slope too far back without getting much height and you never fully get a good viewpoint by trying to go up higher. You rise up some but move back more. I would love, make that LOVE, to have a double deck like what Akron has built. And double deck doesn't mean more capacity. With how Akron designed its grandstands you essentially cut a grandstand in half and keep part low and tight and take the other and move it above and rise up. It's an excellent design! With that setup those who want to sit close to the field can do so in the lower level and those who like the higher viewpoint can have that too. Akron has the best stadium in the MAC by far and they certainly didn't cut corners when building that facility. Awesome seating with the decks, fieldhouse right beside the stadium which helps close in the north end, a beautiful press tower, very cool hillside, a concourse that wraps completely around the stadium, spacious concourses with concessions and restroom, and a really nice exterior facade. Hell even the fencing and exterior lighting is good. There are numerous Power Five schools that do not have as nice or as good of an overall facilty as Akron does. They might have bigger capacities, but Akron has one of the nicest stadiums in the country despite a smaller capacity. It's similar to Alabama State's new stadium (Akron has double decks on both sidelines, Alabama State has a double deck on the press tower side and a smaller grandstand on the other side) that we practiced in before the bowl that our coach and prayers were raving about.

Besides helping with congestion and offering better seats, the other thing the double deck does is hide large swathes of empty seats for those Tuesday and Wednesday night games.

[Falcon137]

With the Sebo being attached to the east side stands, it makes it difficult to completely knock down the entire stadium seating and start over. I imagine any renovations done will be to replace the bleachers and fold down chairs, upgrade the press box and suites and patch up any areas of concern regarding the concrete. I hope I'm wrong if and when they decide to do something with the Doyt, but with the Sebo being there is kind of limits options of what can be done.

The other thing housed in the east stands is a brand new lockerroom. I'm sure there are workaround for that, but completely tearing down the east side does seem unlikely.

Usually there is some ticket information out by now. I wouldn't be surprised if Kingston and the athletic department aren't changing things around for the coming year. Minimum donation levels for certain sections, like what has happened at the Ice Arena, and some sort of upgraded seating. Kingston talked about raising revenues, it's surprising nothing has happened at the Doyt, yet. Similar to the premium seating at the Ice Arena and Stroh.

This year may be a good year to transition into it, in theory season tickets should be cheaper with only 5 games. Maybe get people used to it this year without a major increase in prices before adding on $50-100 a seat next year.

Something along these lines. Obviously less options because the Doyt is severely limited.

http://gozips.com/sports/fball/gameday/ ... n_2014.jpg" target="_blank

[Schadenfreude]

With the Sebo being attached to the east side stands, it makes it difficult to completely knock down the entire stadium seating and start over.

I don't know if I agree with this. I'm not an engineer, but wrecking balls can get fairly surgical. It's not like anything load bearing in the stadium has anything to do with the Sebo center.

If I was to target one side, I'd pick the west side since that's where most people seem to want to sit anyway. I'd also consider moving the cameras to the east side. (I don't know if the angle of the sun for some games would allow us to do this, though)

[transfer2BGSU]

I'd also consider moving the cameras to the east side. (I don't know if the angle of the sun for some games would allow us to do this, though)

I think the cameras are on the west side because the video truck is usually parked on the west side. Something about satellite access to the southwest.

[factman]

Might have something to do with shooting into the sun, if they were shooting from the east side.

Oops.......didn't see the other post saying the same thing.

[mscarn]

We do whatever the TV networks want anyway...why not in a massive multi-million dollar stadium renovation?

[Falcon137]

http://www.sent-trib.com/news/front_pag ... 505fd.html" target="_blank

Highlights....
The university's Board of Trustees Friday approved spending $5.6 million on repairs to the almost 50-year-old facility.

University officials considered doing these repairs as part of an extensive improvement project. As the estimated cost of that project grew to more than $35 million, said Sheri Stoll, vice president for finance, it was decided in December that the most critical of the repairs be done as a first phase while the financing was sought for a second phase that will involve more amenities such as a new entryway.

Trustee David Levey questioned whether the project would "get us a safe stadium that meets our standards."

Yay?

I doubt we ever see a massive renovation. 6 years ago it was in poor shape and needed repairs. In that time span there has been no fundraising and apparently no financing sought. The 5.6 million is coming from money saved by outsourcing the student health center and 1.6 million from a donor.

But.....new practice fields because Dino hates turf!!! Weeeeeeeee

[jpfalcon09]

If the Doyt has over $35 million in repairs needed to it, then perhaps other options need to be explored. While its nice that they're going to be slapping a band aid on the most critical issues, its not going to mask that the facility is in dire need of a total facelift and needs some 21st century upgrades. Pretty unenviable spot for the trustees to be in, and if there is to be a fundraising project, I'll gladly donate towards it.

[Falcon137]

If the Doyt has over $35 million in repairs needed to it, then perhaps other options need to be explored. While its nice that they're going to be slapping a band aid on the most critical issues, its not going to mask that the facility is in dire need of a total facelift and needs some 21st century upgrades. Pretty unenviable spot for the trustees to be in, and if there is to be a fundraising project, I'll gladly donate towards it.

I have to wonder why they are spending 5.6 million now and then 35 million later. 5.6 million seems more like an, oh sh!t, it's falling apart and we haven't secured any funding. So it's going to be at least a 40 million dollar renovation. At least they haven't been mulling over the options since 2009.

God bless that donor giving 1.6 million so we don't have to worry about concrete hitting us in the head.