Stadium Upgrades

[ponyboy]

Good point.

[stlpony]

Moody renovation did it right by highlighting bball history and players.

Ford needs to make that concourse full of art, blown up photos, and murals and fixtures/plaques highlighting our storied history and legendary players. And our lone Heisman recipient should take up a nice chunk of that presentation.

Long overdue.

I like it. You could even go one step further and install A/C and heat in the concourse. Maybe add a couple of restaurants that attach to the stadium.

A restaurant attached to the stadium is a great idea. I'm not sure how successful it was, but it's what the Texas Rangers did at their previous ballpark. A lot of possibilities for the restaurant to cater to suites on gamedays or host other game events as well.

[Pony ^]

Ford is a total dud of a stadium and you are in denial if you say otherwise or haven't seen other stadiums in person. I believe it may be heigh restrictions in UP, but the flat layout of the stands is as boring and cookie cutter as it gets. TCU's stadium is a smidge bigger in capacity yet looks like ATT Stadium compared to Ford.

Don't get me started on the concourses.

There is a dire need for a nice merch store, restaurant options built out from within and TV's that aren't from 1996

[SMUstang]

Ford is a total dud of a stadium and you are in denial if you say otherwise or haven't seen other stadiums in person. I believe it may be heigh restrictions in UP, but the flat layout of the stands is as boring and cookie cutter as it gets. TCU's stadium is a smidge bigger in capacity yet looks like ATT Stadium compared to Ford.

Don't get me started on the concourses.

There is a dire need for a nice merch store, restaurant options built out from within and TV's that aren't from 1996

Do you go to a football game to shop or to dine or watch TV? The TCU stadium upgrade cost hundreds of millions more than our stadium did from scratch. And they can't compete with SMU.

[ponyboy]

A restaurant attached to the stadium is a great idea. I'm not sure how successful it was, but it's what the Texas Rangers did at their previous ballpark. A lot of possibilities for the restaurant to cater to suites on gamedays or host other game events as well.

I think I’ll approach SMU with the idea. Call it Tequila Mockingbird. Hey Ray, can I borrow $10M?

[mustangxc]

Ford is a total dud of a stadium and you are in denial if you say otherwise or haven't seen other stadiums in person. I believe it may be heigh restrictions in UP, but the flat layout of the stands is as boring and cookie cutter as it gets. TCU's stadium is a smidge bigger in capacity yet looks like ATT Stadium compared to Ford.

Don't get me started on the concourses.

There is a dire need for a nice merch store, restaurant options built out from within and TV's that aren't from 1996

I agree. It has a small time feel to it and it is not intimidating at all and has way too many endzone seats and not enough sideline seats. We need to dig deeper to make the seating more inclined to create a more hostile environment and better seats.

[Illa J]

Ford is a total dud of a stadium and you are in denial if you say otherwise or haven't seen other stadiums in person. I believe it may be heigh restrictions in UP, but the flat layout of the stands is as boring and cookie cutter as it gets. TCU's stadium is a smidge bigger in capacity yet looks like ATT Stadium compared to Ford.

Don't get me started on the concourses.

There is a dire need for a nice merch store, restaurant options built out from within and TV's that aren't from 1996

The B&N bookstore bordering campus would be a passable substitute for a 'nice merch store' except for the fact that they're constantly closing early on gamedays.

Looks like they're doing the best they can w/ the kiosks in the stadium concourse, but they weren't even open for homecoming.

Very sad and low energy. I was fired up by SMU hitting top 25 a couple of weeks ago and would have happily dropped some coin at the stadium but bought my SMU merch at Rally House instead.

[JasonB]

Digital boards on the brick between the 100 and 200 level around the stadium would make it quite a bit more active, as would a modern videoboard and sound system. Those enhancements wouldn't cost too much and would drastically improve the atmosphere. You can also very easily turn that level of seats between the 100 and 200 levels into loge seating.

[SMUstang]

Ford is a total dud of a stadium and you are in denial if you say otherwise or haven't seen other stadiums in person. I believe it may be heigh restrictions in UP, but the flat layout of the stands is as boring and cookie cutter as it gets. TCU's stadium is a smidge bigger in capacity yet looks like ATT Stadium compared to Ford.

Don't get me started on the concourses.

There is a dire need for a nice merch store, restaurant options built out from within and TV's that aren't from 1996

Ford is used approximately 20-30 hours per year for SMU games. We have Northpark for merchandise and restaurant options which can be used anytime. If you like TCU better, then move to Fort Worth.

[Pony ^]

Ford is a total dud of a stadium and you are in denial if you say otherwise or haven't seen other stadiums in person. I believe it may be heigh restrictions in UP, but the flat layout of the stands is as boring and cookie cutter as it gets. TCU's stadium is a smidge bigger in capacity yet looks like ATT Stadium compared to Ford.

Don't get me started on the concourses.

There is a dire need for a nice merch store, restaurant options built out from within and TV's that aren't from 1996

Ford is used approximately 20-30 hours per year for SMU games. We have Northpark for merchandise and restaurant options which can be used anytime. If you like TCU better, then move to Fort Worth.

TCU's stadium, rival or not, is 100 times better than Ford. If you disagree you are delusional. Our club doesn't even have windows that open. Something just about every stadium in America has. Zero home field advantage.

[Pony ^]

This looks like an (insert a City ISD stadium) concourse. A major facelift is needed. Approaching Cotton Bowl status in that concrete jungle.

[BUS]

Club windows do open but at the top of the glass.

[BUS]

Like the idea of adding the video on the brick between 100 and 200.

Sound has to get better.

[Charleston Pony]

If the demand exists, club seating & suites on the visitor side might be the best investment although looking into the setting sun for late day games could be a negative in terms of selling those out. Would probably have to discount those seats compared to the home side. Parking in close proximity to Ford remains an issue. Not worth constructing unless they know the demand is there. I agree with those who say keep the grassy knoll on the south end. Good place for kids (and hopefully future SMU fans) to play. It can be used for overflow seating if and when we ever sellout but additional seating is going to go to waste unless we host P5 former SWC mates who bring as many fans as SMU can produce. I hope at some point we can fill Ford for games vs conference mates but I'm not going to hold my breath on that.

[Topper]

Many teams like A&M, Arkansas, etc would benefit from playing in an enlarged Ford if they needed exposure in Dallas for recruiting. Unfortunately, Jerryworld invites them on a regular basis, giving those teams a presence in the area and a nice place to invite recruits without putting butts in our seats and giving our fans something to look forware to. The pro team competes with us in more ways then one.