Ford Stadium

[SMUfrat]

Ok, so I want to bring this up because I am still uncertain how I feel...

Was Ford Stadium designed correctly? Here are some of my thoughts

1. I think it is a beautiful structure, and looks good aesthetically

2. It feels thin, from the ground the top stand

3. I like the press box / suites

4. I also like the grassy knoll / horse-shoe shape

5. Size is appropriate for us right now. I think an East riser should be added to get to 45,000 some-day.

6. The stadium feels a little too flat, could me more intimate

7. TCU / UH are building stadiums that feel alot more impressive, while not actually being large.

8. I feel like we have the same feel (on a different scale depending) as the designs of Michigan / Notre Dame / UCF / etc...

[LHS81]

needs alcohol though

[Statler]

Park cities code limited some aspects

[mustangxc]

To me it seems more like the Rose Bowl on a much smaller scale. I wish it was more inclined, but that was by design because of UP. Same people that are now putting up no parking signs on their streets.

[East Coast Mustang]

5. Size is appropriate for us right now. I think an East riser should be added to get to 45,000 some-day.

This won't be an issue anytime soon, but is an upper deck on the east side even possible now due to the proximity of the new dorms?

[SMUfrat]

So i have seen the master plan for Ford.

It involves closing off the bowl and adding an east riser...

I would rather do an east riser before closing off the bowl... i like it being open / it is kind of inviting.

Just think - when we actually have a good product to tout, that stadium will be full in a heartbeat.

Imagine we go 10 wins in a season, beating old SWC rivals... it gets filled.

Imagine PAC invites us, we play USC / Oregon / UCLA / Colorado / Arizona... those are games ppl want to see

anyway... I'm just dreaming. One day...

[East Coast Mustang]

Ford is perfect for us. I think it's a great stadium. One improvement that could be made in the future would be replacing the metal bleachers with chairback seats that have armrests.

[SMUfrat]

5. Size is appropriate for us right now. I think an East riser should be added to get to 45,000 some-day.

This won't be an issue anytime soon, but is an upper deck on the east side even possible now due to the proximity of the new dorms?

I know...

and yes, the dorms are far enough away. there is a good 20-40 ft of usable space the stadium can take. It was planned to leave just enough space for an east riser if it was needed. The street needs to be moved a bit, but I think they are doing that in summer of 14.

[ghost]

Ford is way to big. Needs to be reduced to around 20,000. For Big 12 teams visiting need to move to AT & T with fountains that work and modern conveniences and the ability to handle parking. Ford couldn't even handle the parking for the high school playoff games and the Landry classic.

[Longtime]

A second deck, instead of the full horseshoe end zone, would give Ford a "bigger" feel and put more fans on top of the action. Look what it does for TCU's new stadium, which isn't that big by Big 12 standards but has a "big" feel to it.

Ford would also seem "cozier" if it kept the natural grass it started with. But maintaining a nice, natural field takes a lot of maintenance. It's much easier to throw down the carpet (plus it gives you a rainy day practice surface), but you lose the collegial feel of natural grass.

It's crazy that a stadium that opened this century has both teams enter and exit through the same tunnel, and the visitors have to climb stairs to their locker room. I suppose it's better than going across the street, like at Ownby.

I was told that originally the visiting teams would enter and exit through the ramp on the southwest corner. Makes perfect sense. However, they forgot to leave room for maintenance, equipment trucks or somesuch and a last-minute change was made to move the visiting lockerroom to the opposite end.

There also needs to be a permanent scoreboard atop the horseshoe end of the seating bowl. The field-level scoreboards are just weird.

Putting a second scoreboard on the opposite end might help resolve some of the audio issues at Ford. I don't know what the setup is now, but it seems they have to blast sound out of the main scoreboard to cover the whole stadium. Those sitting in the direct path of the sound are at risk of hearing loss, while other spots in the stadium can barely hear the PA.

And if you were to do it over again, you would put a nicer facade on the press box and primary suites. Looks pretty utilitarian.

[PSCA]

I like Ford, not a bad seat in the house. I would also like to see seatbacks, but you will lose seating capacity if/when you do that ... not a problem for now. Unless you want to spend some cash to do some serious updates/upgrades and warm & fuzzies, I think it is good for us near term. Rather see cash spent on the IPF. The new coaches offices, locker, players lounge and meeting rooms we are very nice upgrade.

[PonySnob]

I like Ford, not a bad seat in the house. I would also like to see seatbacks,.

Where is Ford "bench only"? I thought all the seating has a back.

[mrydel]

Ford is perfect for us. I think it's a great stadium. One improvement that could be made in the future would be replacing the metal bleachers with chairback seats that have armrests.

With the sparse crowds we could put in recliners.

[Grant Carter]

To me the main reason to add an east riser as opposed to filling in the horseshoe is that the seats that would be added are much better. Lot more good seats between the 20s as opposed to more end zone seats.

[CalallenStang]

To me the main reason to add an east riser as opposed to filling in the horseshoe is that the seats that would be added are much better. Lot more good seats between the 20s as opposed to more end zone seats.

And people will pay more for those seats as well.