OU Says Stadium Expansion ‘Shovel ready’

 

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UPDATE: There’s word from OU today that this report is in error; the expansion is reported to be “shovel ready.”

University of Oklahoma President David Boren will delay the football program’s expansion and stadium renovation according to multiple sources.

SoonerScoop.com has learned members of the administration were told of the plans to postpone construction on the first phase of a proposed $370 million renovation project to Oklahoma’s Memorial Stadium and the Barry Switzer Center just last week.

Those plans were relayed to contractors and architects earlier this week.

Sources tell us the reasons behind the postponement are “market related.” That has mostly to do with the current economic climate where oil prices have fallen drastically and stockpiles have built up to record highs in the U.S.

Getty Images
David Boren and Bob Stoops pose for pictures after the 2014 Sugar Bowl

Another source told SoonerScoop.com that the current climate makes stadium expansion “unrealistic” at this point in time.Bob Stoops’ Sooners are also coming off one of their most disappointing seasons in his 16 years in Norman after losing to Clemson 40-6 in the Russell Athletic Bowl, and the fundraising arm of the university has had difficulty securing financial commitments for new stadium suites which were to be a part of the new renovations.

A large portion of the revenue stream the university needed for the renovations were going to come from the selling of those suites.

But sources indicate performance on the field has very little to do with this postponement.

“The football outlook has barely entered into the discussion at all,” said a source “It seems everyone knows upgrades like this are important in keeping us competitive.”

Wednesday, President Boren is in Lawton, for a scheduled Board of Regents meeting. According to the agenda, the university is not scheduled to discuss any matters related to securing bonds for the football program’s renovations.

Instead, the University will move forward with another major project that is said to be near and dear to President Boren’s heart: The new Residential College.

The Board of Regents are set to secure over $80 million in bonds for the construction of the new Residential College facility which will be built just south of the stadium and just west of Headington Hall.

You can see an animation of the proposed facility here.

The Residential College is a concept created at Oxford University and Cambridge University in the UK.

According to a press release by the University of Oklahoma, “the new housing facilities will be designed as living/learning communities that would, by their nature, build strong communities and identities and become the cornerstone of the undergraduate experience. They will be patterned on those at Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge.”

The new housing will accommodate approximately 600 students and contain a dining hall, faculty housing, student lounge areas and other amenities.

Sources told SoonerScoop.com President Boren could have secured bonds and started the south endzone renovation this year. But he chose instead to focus his efforts on the Residential College.

The regents will also secure $25 million in bonds to build a new parking garage as the Residential College will result in lost parking near the football stadium.

All-told, Boren will secure $125 million in bonds for new projects next to Lindsay and Jenkins, but none of that money will be used to upgrade OU’s football facilities.

Sources indicate to SoonerScoop.com that the plans will move forward for the football facilities, but those renovations are expected to be postponed for at least another year after Boren decided to secure financing for other projects.

SoonerScoop.com’s Eddie Radosevich and RJ Young are in Lawton attending the regents meeting and we hope to hear reaction from President Boren following today’s meeting. We will update this story as we continue to receive more information.

– See more at: https://oklahoma.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1730619#sthash.n95pJpAN.dpuf


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