Courtesy of the OZone: COLUMBUS – Ohio State is upgrading Ohio Stadium once again. The Department of Athletics announced today a proposed four-year renovation project for The Horseshoe in order to “preserve and upgrade parts of the iconic facility.” Vice president and athletic director Gene Smith made the announcement of the $42 million project at a press conference at the stadium on Tuesday. The upgrades will include: Restore and re-coat the 94-year old concrete on C-deck Upgrade power distribution systems for the east, west, and south stands Improve and upgrade B-deck to include better lighting, larger televisions, an improved sound system and better scoreboards, which will improve the experience of fans with obstructed-view seat Renovate the premium seating area to consolidate the university suites into one University Suite and add 35 loge boxes and 12 luxury suites According to the press release, the university has been planning for this upgrade for several years. This process will begin in 2017 and carry through 2020. “We are committed to providing our fans, players, and coaches with one of the best facilities in the nation,” Smith said in the press release. “We knew we had to get some of this done in order to avoid future degradation of the cement on C-deck. At the same time, we have fans requesting upgraded seating options. We see this as a great opportunity to accomplish both projects. It’s an important investment in the stadium that is beloved by so many.” As part of the 2014 South Stand expansion, the capacity of Ohio Stadium was increased from 102,329 to 104,944. This next phase of renovations will decrease the maximum attendance in the stadium by an estimated 2,600 seats in 2018 taking the total to 102,854. Most of the seats lost will be on B-deck in areas that can have obstructed views and where fans have expressed displeasure. According to the press release, the renovations will be funded by the Department of Athletics using auxiliary funds, debt, and private donations.
Sounds like basic upgrades/improvements. Facilities like stadiums probably are sort of constantly being improved, upgraded, renovated, etc. What does Ohio Stadium provide in terms of Wi-Fi? that seems to be the upgrade so many stadiums are doing. Even here in Houston where we thought we built a state of the art stadium not that long ago, had to have improvements, esp Wi-Fi in order to get next years Super Bowl.
Terry, Wi-Fi is constantly being upgraded. We apparently are going to slightly reduce the number of seats available. Sometimes I wonder how much of a bargain these upgrades really provide in relationship to the cost?