Not clear on this but are they adding 1700 or so club seats and around 8000 regular seats to Kinnick? If so will the stadium be around 80,000 then or are they just keeping it at or around the 70,572 capacity?
Kinnick Stadium Renovation
- Thread starter Hawkeyeinsoutherncalifornia
- Start date
No. The renovation will actually lose seats...I think we dip below 70k.
Any links or good pictures of the proposed renovations to Kinnick? Id be interested on seeing what you are all planning?
Penn State just announced its athletic facilities master plan and there are extensive renovations coming to Beaver Stadium. Though the football stadium is years away and the master plan focus on smaller sports like swimming and tennis first. http://www.gopsusports.com/ot/facilities-plan.html
They are also widening the sideline - which made Kinnick a more difficult place for teams to play.
From the website... "Construction will be completed over several years starting with some work taking place prior to the 2017 football season; the razing of the north end zone will begin after the 2017 season."
Any idea what work is taking place this offseason?
That's sweet. Kinnick is an awesome venue and will only get better once this completed.
Moving the sideline walls back to give more space for the teams along the field, installing new turf, installing a new storm sewer from under the field out toward the north.
Gotta give opposing teams a safe space. Don't want them exposed to any triggering stimulation from the stands.
Sounds like the capacity is going to be a lot lower during the '18 season when the north end zone is semi-completed.
I have no words for the level of epic myopia that would come up with such a still born idea. This is clearly a sign that the bland cancer that is gary barta is continuing to metastasize through Iowa athletics. So much for Kinnick's unique homefield advantage as it edges closer to having all the character of Jordan Creek mall. Damn it to hell.
2 Rows in the bench area between the 25 yard lines won't make a significant difference. Still the closest fans to the visitor's bench in the Big Ten.
Plan is to have the entire stadium structure built with seats for 2018, but the new club interior won't be finished. Capacity in 2018 should be about the same as 2019, within 2,000 at least
That sentiment was my first reaction. But . . . I had the privilege once of watching a game from around 7-10 rows back and it was hard to follow what was going on. I would never choose to sit so close if I could avoid it. I hate to lose the atmosphere, but I get why they'd move it back a little. I'd be interested to see figures on how well filled those seats really were.
The front row rabble rousers are typically the students anyway, right? And they're not being affected. Besides, I would think the extra space would benefit both teams, so maybe KF asked for it?
I believe it would also allow more room required for TV coverage these days along with additional room for players/recruits etc on the sidelines along with medical areas.
Count me among those who think widening the sideline is a bad idea. I've read so many comments from opposing players about how that narrow sideline and constant heckling from the fans makes Kinnick such a tough place to play.
I believe it loses 1,500 regular seats, but gains 1,700+ premium seats in their place. So it's mostly a wash.
This is a very small widening which will have minimal affect on that. It adds maybe 7-10 feet of depth to the bench area which is probably needed.
My buddies have been in the rows directly behind the visitor's bench for years...and they're a big part of the intimidation factor you're talking about. (they've had a few "personal" conversations with opposing players and even a coach or two). So much so, that the front two rows have been vacant for a number of years (at least to Iowa season ticket holders)
We're not turning Kinnick into Memorial Stadium in Champaign, where you can drive a couple of cars between the bench and the stands. Opposing players will still be very close to the stands and hear plenty. I assure you, we lost more intensity with the overly flat and open re-design of the South End Zone which opened the bowl up too much. See the "no-gap" configuration below.
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This is a very small widening which will have minimal affect on that. It adds maybe 7-10 feet of depth to the bench area which is probably needed.
My buddies have been in the rows directly behind the visitor's bench for years...and they're a big part of the intimidation factor you're talking about. (they've had a few "personal" conversations with opposing players and even a coach or two). So much so, that the front two rows have been vacant for a number of years (at least to Iowa season ticket holders)
We're not turning Kinnick into Memorial Stadium in Champaign, where you can drive a couple of cars between the bench and the stands. Opposing players will still be very close to the stands and hear plenty. I assure you, we lost more intensity with the overly flat and open re-design of the South End Zone which opened the bowl up too much. See the "no-gap" configuration below.
I have been surprised that opposing players and coaches will interact with the fans. Some of the stories are very entertaining.
My buddy (may he rest in peace) said you could always tell how disciplined and well-coached a team was by how they handled it. JoPa's Penn St teams stared straight ahead...rarely flinched. Illinois, on the other hand, always had guys cranking their heads around.
He knew they were getting into player's heads when they turned to look into the stands rather than at the field. It was even better when an asst coach would catch a player doing so and admonish him to focus on the damn game, not that guy! Then they really let a guy have it!
For some reason John Cooper was a big target. After riding him pretty good (and crossing the line with a couple of NSFW insults) Cooper turned around, pointed toward them and said "I'm not calling off the dogs this year!". tOSU won that game handily (1998, I believe). Much of what they did wouldn't play in today's PC Kinnick.
He knew they were getting into player's heads when they turned to look into the stands rather than at the field. It was even better when an asst coach would catch a player doing so and admonish him to focus on the damn game, not that guy! Then they really let a guy have it!
For some reason John Cooper was a big target. After riding him pretty good (and crossing the line with a couple of NSFW insults) Cooper turned around, pointed toward them and said "I'm not calling off the dogs this year!". tOSU won that game handily (1998, I believe). Much of what they did wouldn't play in today's PC Kinnick.
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There have been some asst coaches who will even have a running dialogue with the fans. The ones I have heard haven't included NSFW insults. To a player for Indiana from Columbus, 'were you not smart enough to get into O$U or just not good enough?' to a punter 'how does it feel to not really be a real football player?' and then when the punter ran for a first down coming off and looking at the fan 'we ran that play for you'(Not Wiscy) just some fun stuff.
Beautiful, and some of it sounds familiar. Kickers who missed were often targets..."don't worry, the wind kicked up a little on that one"...or "the sun was in your eyes" on a cloudy day. Mostly fun stuff. But it was the X-rated comment the got John Cooper to turn around.
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