Husky Stadium Plans
by John Berkowitz on Jan 19, 2009 9:46 AM PST
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PrintClick on the link to view the minutes from the last Board of Regents meeting to get an accurate idea of what $300 million will buy you these days when it comes to a college football stadium.
One of the more notable design elements is a 70,000 square foot football only building which would be built into the Northwest side of the stadium.
Missing Parts in Phase One
Missing is an expansion of the West end zone and bowl seating in the East end zone. Plans are on the drawing boards to do that at a later date.
The West end zone would sport a covered upper deck in Phase Two and would increase seating to as much as 90,000. The East end zone bowl would be built low to the ground so views aren't blocked of the lake and mountains. Removing the bleacher seating would add more seats and better site lines. Don't count on either getting done this decade because ticket demand isn't there.
Another thing missing from this plan is a huge parking garage on the South side of the stadium. I think it still will be built as part of the Sound Transit light rail project. Funds for that garage will likely come from the State and Sound Transit.
I don't like the idea of a parking garage on the South side of the stadium but if it is done right and if there is plenty of open space on top of it to build what I would call a Husky Town for game days it just might be a good addition.
The South parking lot is most likely going to undergo plenty of changes this decade. You have Sound Transit putting the light rail through their plus you have the very good possibility of Pacific Avenue tunneling under or traveling through the parking lot on the way to the new 520 bridge.
If you look at the 520 plan options it is obvious that they are going to have to encroach on the South parking lot in some way. Building another bridge over the cut next to the University Bridge probably will never happen for a number of good reasons.
In the end I think they Tunnel under the parking lot and Union Bay even though it is the costliest option.
Wow Factor
The reconstruction of the lower bowl and moderniztion of the South side are estimated to cost $250 million. The football center located on the Northwest side of the stadium will cost $50 million.
The wow factor in recruiting is the new training facility built completely into the stadium to supplement what has already been built in the Tubby Graves/ Husky Legends expansion. Moving the football coaches offices, meeting rooms and training facilities over here opens up a lot of needed space in the still cramped confines of Tubby Graves.
Imagine Coach Sarkisian talking to a recruit and his family in an office that overlooks the playing field. That is exactly what this design does plus all the assistant coaches get a view also.
The media gets a break with a new facility in the West end zone to supplement the old press box which will be replaced by a new one that can stand up to an earthquake. If you have ever been up there on gameday it can get pretty scary when the crowd gets going.
Once this project is completed Washington will not only have the best stadium in the Pac 10 but it will rival any stadium in the country.
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WOW
The picture on page 6 look AMAZING! How could you not want to play there if your a high school kid?
I love it! but...
…my only concern is with funding still pending this will open up criticism that it is over the top and has a lot of things in it that are glam and aren’t necessary. Just playing the devils advocate here and saying what our critics will be saying.
Absolutely STUNNING!
It looks fabulous! I hope everyone can really get behind this now! I also hope they’re showing these GORGEOUS pictures to the recruits! WOW!
Over the top
It will be very nice.
Minus the football center most of the money goes toward rebuilding the bowl and bringing the entire stadium up to ADA standards.
I think in the end it will be the best college football stadium in the country when you factor in view, seat location, and site lines alone. Add some nice finishing touches and it is classic.
by John Berkowitz on Jan 19, 2009 10:25 AM PST reply actions
Maybe I am wrong..
but the way its set up is that the $150 million that the state would give is going strictly to the necessary enhancements to bring it to code and all the “extras” would come from the private funds, correct?
Yes that's pretty much it...
..infrastructure and ADA will come from the state money and the dressing part of it will be private funding.
Wow!
I love the planned upgrade. It is a really nice blend between the existing structure and proposed renovations. As a matter of aside, I would like put the request in now to see a slightly upgraded Husky Tron (not in size, but just in quality of picture) and sound system.
Tron
The last Tron was donated by Paul Allen’s sports media company. When that contract ends I imagine they will bring in a new one.
by John Berkowitz on Jan 19, 2009 10:56 AM PST reply actions
I had no idea of the origin of the current Tron...
You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge of all things Husky!
by Dawg Tracks on Jan 19, 2009 12:26 PM PST up reply actions
Paul Allen
put that Tron in when the Seahawks used Husky Stadium while Qwest was being built. He also put in the current Field turf at that time and in Martin Stadium to keep his coog buds happy.
Allen is a great guy
He was going to remodel the stadium at his own expense in exchange for a 15 year lease and the UW turned him down. That was probably the stupidest act of Hedges regime. Someone offers you $300 million to play on Sunday’s for 15 years and you take it.
In reality the lease wouldn’t have lasted that long.
He would have buillt his own stadium.
Hindsight is 20/20.
Deals like that come around once in a generation if you are lucky.
by John Berkowitz on Jan 19, 2009 11:18 PM PST up reply actions
Press in the end zone
One part of the plan is that they are going to build new press boxes.
The one that is on the 50 will only be used by coaches, TV, and radio in the future.
The rest of the press will be in the Northwest part of the endzone. Those aren’t bad seats at all by the way even with the track. Once they move it in closer I don’t those guys will have a problem as long as they are supplemented by TV.
by John Berkowitz on Jan 19, 2009 10:59 AM PST reply actions
Question
Do you think this is one reason the cougs are putting a hold on the 40 million dollar next phase of their construction package for Martin Stadium? I mean I could understand their logic. Let’s see where this goes with Husky Stadium first, see if we can get the state to kick in money for us and if not we go ahead with the final phase ourselves?
Nice
Those pictures look crazy. I am very excited, and i don’t want to be a negative Nancy, but will the people in the seats that replace the track be able to see at all? Its hard to see over the players in to bottom 20 rows as it is so will this make it worse?
First five rows WERE view obstructed...
…the proposal drops the field level and I don’t think these are absolutely concrete plans. The field level is going to drop and the proposal is 6.5 feet. If you look at the rendering of the lower bowl the slope has changed. So I would have to assume you will not have the five lower rows designated “view obstructed” as is the case now. My guess is that you’ll be able to see the field from the lowest row without being obstructed by the team standing up on the sideline.
Everyone will be able to see
Tough to tell from the rendering but all the seats will have excellent visibility.
Rambling about the track
Track and Field used to be a big deal at Washington even in my lifetime. I remember going to many track meets as a kid that were very well attended but that kind of fell off in the early 1970’s. For some reason Track and Field became like Boxing and big events were few, far between, and not located outside of Eugene anymore as far as the Pacific Northwest is concerned. Without the promotion and big name events things just dropped off into oblivion at most track and field venues in the country.
When the stadium was originally built in 1920 track and field was almost as big as football. The original 30,000 seat bowl was the perfect venue for track. Even when they expanded the stadium by adding an upper level to the bowl it was still perfect for track. When they added the upper deck in the early 50’s it was useless for track. Same thing for the North side in the late 1980’s. The stadium was never able to seat more than 40,000 for a track meet that was not view obstructed. That still though is a major league track venue even if it isn’t not close to Olympic standards for seating.
Husky Stadium worked well for the Goodwill Games but was never acceptable as a potential Olympic game venue.
Track as a spectator sport is dead except for the Olympics in the US which is a sad thing.
by John Berkowitz on Jan 19, 2009 8:13 PM PST up reply actions
Design concerns
OK, it’s an exciting design and there’s no question about the dire need to upgrade. Moreover, replacing the entire footprint of the stadium is out of the question due not only to expense, but also because the open end facing the lake is a UW “trademark.” So issues like distance from the field for the existing seats can’t be improved, nor can sun exposure to the field itself.
I’m guessing that the lesser slope on the lower level seats is due to engineering factors? But the sight lines for those closest to the field should be fine, assuming by the renditions that they are elevated more than 6 feet above the playing surface.
I wonder though about whether Phase 2 (or any part of it) could be accelerated to the main overhaul? It doesn’t seem like a new integrated east-end zone grandstand would be that expensive relative to overall costs, and some cover for the west stands would make those seats much more attractive to ticket buyers.
The goal to fill the seats, even if by keeping their number down, is smart practice. But which seats go empty on a given day? I think that people would be much more likely to purchase those west-end seats if they offered the same rain protection as the rest of the field. I can afford Tyee tickets, but there are a lot more people (including kids) who would buy horseshoe seats if they weren’t made to feel miserable for not staying home and watching for free on TV.
Revenue from half-price seats that are filled will always be more than that from half-filled seats. And the fans you cultivate in the “cheap seats” will become your most fervent and loyal. All this “Club” stuff may be necessary for the big donors, but I for one am tired of looking at half-empty seats in the Don James Center while their patrons are off networking or whatever. Make the plebeians feel special too, and fill the stands.
As in any project, deferred dreams are often lost to funding cuts and diminished enthusiasm. And if and when finally undertaken, they usually cost much more than if they had been integrated into the initial project. If the funding could somehow be procured now, the expense would to a large part be repaid by the sight and sound of a solid wall of fans.
Nice comments Verge
Horseshoe – I had hoped they would put permanent low level seating in the East end zone but they will address that in Phase Two.
Lesser Slope – The pitch of the slope is a combination of safety and simply the lay of the land. Fans in the closest row to the field will be elevated 6"6" above the playing field.
Phase Two – If they cover the West endzone it is going to be with an upper deck that is designed to be inegrated into Phase One. All it takes is money and the need for additional seating to get it done.
East End Zone – I haven’t seen a final rendering of Phase Two. Obviously the recent drawings we saw really didn’t resemble the ones we saw last year. I would like to see them build low level permanent seating back there with a covered concession plaza. This area is also a big ingress and egress point so they need a lot of room for that.
Rain Protection – I agree with that but selling tickets to watch a contending team has never been a problem. I do think that once the team is rolling again and demand is up the rain protection and improved sitelines will help sell a lot more tickets.
Fun Zone – You can count on a feature like that being there for awhile.
by John Berkowitz on Jan 20, 2009 10:15 AM PST reply actions
More room for lower cost tickets
It would be nice if they would have a larger section of family plan seats. Right now I think the only seats are in the east endzone. When they start winning again and the stadium fills up. I still think they should keep these sections low cost/family plan seats. How about a large section in the west endzone?
by doubledeucedawg on Jan 20, 2009 4:59 PM PST reply actions
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