New University of Oklahoma athletics director Roger Denny has directly addressed backlash from Sooners fans over planned renovations to Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
As reported by RoundtableSports, citing an exclusive interview by The Oklahoman, Denny inherited the renovation project when he took the OU job in January. He made it clear that he is listening to the concerns but also explained the tough realities of modern college athletics.
"We're certainly reevaluating some things," Denny told The Oklahoman. "But I would say, the idea of moving some seats, that's part of the business of athletics, not just college athletics."
According to Tyler Jones of RoundtableSports, "That's the part a lot of fans don't want to hear."
The original plan calls for reducing capacity from 80,126 to around 73,126 by removing about 7,000 general admission seats to make room for more premium seating — 47 suites, 64 loge boxes and roughly 4,000 new club seats, Jone reported.
The $450 million project is scheduled to start after the 2027 season and finish in time for 2029.
"Our expenses continue to increase dramatically year over year over year," Denny told The Oklahoman. "We've got to pay for that somehow, and a big part of that is going to be the donors that support us. Our roster cost goes up somewhere around 40% every year. Well, our ticket costs are going to go up single-digit percent, low single-digit percent every year. Our donor impact is going to increase, but we've got to find spots where we can match revenue to those expenses."
Longtime Sooners ticket-holders will feel the pinch. "Folks are going to have some increased cost to maintain their current seat area," Denny said. "Do I wish everyone could have their seats forever? Yeah, absolutely. I wish that, but that's not realistic in this environment.
"The goal for us is to find opportunities where if someone ultimately ends up having to move seats, they're still having an incredible experience in our stadium and a winning experience in our stadium.
"If we find ourselves in those circumstances where folks that have been incredibly loyal and gracious to us over the years, if notwithstanding that they've got to go to a different seat, it's still going to be a pretty good seat and great experience for them."
Even with reduced capacity, the concern remains putting people in the seats — in Norman and across the nation.
"We're in this unique, odd world where our biggest partner, the TV networks, is also our biggest competitor," Denny told The Oklahoman.
"We have to compete with them day in and day out to provide a better experience. It needs to be a better experience for you to come watch a game at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium than it is for you to sit on your couch and watch it on TV."
"This stadium renovation is a big part of it," Denny continued, "but so will whatever changes we make to the stadium next year, and the year after that, the year after that, and perhaps even some in the season. I haven't seen a game yet, so I can't tell you exactly what I think we need in there. But as I get in there and as the season starts, I'm probably going to see some stuff that I want to change, and we're going to evolve that stadium as frequently as we can to dial in that experience to be the best in the country."
