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North End Zone Project Update

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Maybe you knew this, but I didn't. Apparently the north end zone project will begin immediately after this fall's final home game against Nebraska and be finished in time for the 2017 season. Mortensen Construction explained the basic timeline and design plan on Hawkeyesmic. Here's the link: http://hawkeyesmic.com/repository/Football/Hawkeyes_Mic_Football_Show_100915.mp3

According to Mortensen, the plan is to totally remove the current north end zone (but save the new scoreboards and video boards) and rebuild from scratch. The new end zone will tie into both the east and west stands to create a bowl in the north end of Kinnick. The new end zone also will tie into the hospital's pedestrian bridge behind the north stands. The goal is to keep Kinnick's capacity at a minimum of 70,000.

The project sounds pretty cool and should give the stadium a different vibe as well as much more comfortable seating.

And tearing the north end zone completely down and building it back up from December through July will be quite a task, but Mortensen says it'll get 'er done.

I'll be anxious to see the drawings once the planning is finalized.

I think the Rec Building will be coming down soon, too, but that was not mentioned.

Anyway, I've been looking for info on the north end zone project without much luck, so when I found this I figured I'd pass it along, FWIW,
 
Hmm. Not sold on the idea of having that half bowled in. Probably not a big deal, though.
 
Hmm. Not sold on the idea of having that half bowled in. Probably not a big deal, though.

Presumably it will still be as tall as it is now? I was trying to figure out how they'd bowl that in and at the same time "hope" to keep capacity above 70,000. I guess the answer is either it won't go up as high OR probably more likely there will be more room between rows? I haven't sat in that end zone for years, and maybe only sat there one time (ISU 2006) but I think I've read plenty of comments about it being pretty tight... although I also assume many of the complaining people are 50 pounds overweight. Just watch though, we'll have at least 2-3 people reply to me saying they are 6'4" 230 and all muscle and it's too tight for them :rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the link...I've been wondering if we'll get an update.

I hope they can start the athlete dorm soon.
 
Pepperman, the details of exactly how this will happen are still being hammered out. Mortensen said because the demolition and construction timeline will be so daunting, every little detail has to be worked out as completely as possible before the actual work begins.

And I had season tickets in the north end zone in 2014. HUGE mistake. Even petite young women were contorted like pretzels, and my wife and I--along with our fellow fans--felt like sardines. No room for arms or legs. It's really, really bad. And yes, for those folks of a larger persuasion...well...it ain't pretty. So yes, there will definitely be more room between rows. And Barta has said they want to be creative and not just build a new set of bleachers but a space with new club seating, a patio area...the kind of thing many baseball stadiums have incorporated. And that's why it'll be interesting to see the actual design. It's supposed to be pretty creative use of space.
 
The new dorm under construction on Madison street opens in fall 2017. Athletic dorm construction probably won't start until that one is complete.
I have no idea what the dorms look like where the athletes live now, but if they were built pre-1990s, they're probably not somewhere I would want to live in or have my children live. Having brand new dorms in close proximity to the athlete's respective sport facilities seems like an obvious recruiting tool, IMO. Probably 35 to 40% of their college careers will be spent in those little rooms.
 
Presumably it will still be as tall as it is now? I was trying to figure out how they'd bowl that in and at the same time "hope" to keep capacity above 70,000. I guess the answer is either it won't go up as high OR probably more likely there will be more room between rows? I haven't sat in that end zone for years, and maybe only sat there one time (ISU 2006) but I think I've read plenty of comments about it being pretty tight... although I also assume many of the complaining people are 50 pounds overweight. Just watch though, we'll have at least 2-3 people reply to me saying they are 6'4" 230 and all muscle and it's too tight for them :rolleyes:
6' 200. It's a little tight when it's a full house, but not unbearable, I can understand how someone who's 6'5 or 6'6 would never want to sit down there
 
Does the water tower have anything to do with Iowa athletics or does it function with the University Hospital system? Just wondering. Because if it had something to with Iowa athletics I would imagine that it would of been painted with the tiger hawk by now.

Back in the day the physical plant controlled the water tower and nobody had the stones to tell the hospital it was going to get painted
 
Does the water tower have anything to do with Iowa athletics or does it function with the University Hospital system? Just wondering. Because if it had something to with Iowa athletics I would imagine that it would of been painted with the tiger hawk by now.

Have always heard it is controlled by the hospital and they have objected to painting it.
 
Probably time to get rid of the weeds in the south end zone and bowl it in with seats.
 
Harreld didn't approve the first proposal, or so I heard. What was different about the current plans? They wanted to bond the project so he was concerned about the lack of incremental revenue. That said, now is a great time to borrow money.
 
Does the water tower have anything to do with Iowa athletics or does it function with the University Hospital system? Just wondering. Because if it had something to with Iowa athletics I would imagine that it would of been painted with the tiger hawk by now.


I was being profusely sarcastic, and I'm guessing you likely knew that. Directly related to athletics? Not so much. Part of the "iconic" television shots every time the football team is on? Yes. Directly in the center of all the athletic venues? Yes. An opportunity to "make a statement" and be a big-time Hawkeye landmark if painted correctly? Yes.
 
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Maybe you knew this, but I didn't. Apparently the north end zone project will begin immediately after this fall's final home game against Nebraska and be finished in time for the 2017 season. Mortensen Construction explained the basic timeline and design plan on Hawkeyesmic. Here's the link: http://hawkeyesmic.com/repository/Football/Hawkeyes_Mic_Football_Show_100915.mp3

According to Mortensen, the plan is to totally remove the current north end zone (but save the new scoreboards and video boards) and rebuild from scratch. The new end zone will tie into both the east and west stands to create a bowl in the north end of Kinnick. The new end zone also will tie into the hospital's pedestrian bridge behind the north stands. The goal is to keep Kinnick's capacity at a minimum of 70,000.

The project sounds pretty cool and should give the stadium a different vibe as well as much more comfortable seating.

And tearing the north end zone completely down and building it back up from December through July will be quite a task, but Mortensen says it'll get 'er done.

I'll be anxious to see the drawings once the planning is finalized.

I think the Rec Building will be coming down soon, too, but that was not mentioned.

Anyway, I've been looking for info on the north end zone project without much luck, so when I found this I figured I'd pass it along, FWIW,

It's too bad they aren't getting rid of the minature video screens and advertising strip and replacing them with a decent sized screen/s
 
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Probably time to get rid of the weeds in the south end zone and bowl it in with seats.
No seats there due to poor line of sight...and they'll have the same issue on the north end zone (maybe that's where the video screens will go?).
 
No seats there due to poor line of sight...and they'll have the same issue on the north end zone (maybe that's where the video screens will go?).

Yes but can't they do something different there. Appealing to the eye it is not.
 
I can understand how someone who's 6'5 or 6'6 would never want to sit down there

I buy two seats just for me and try for the aisle seats...used to be able to get away with just 1 ticket when taking my son, but the little guy is now 6' 220, so he uses all of his ticket space...
 
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This is really great news - my seats in in the N endzone, and I love our view, love the crowd, would just prefer to stay there. Going to love the extra room, and I hope that 'bowl' effect keeps the noise in the place.
 
Presumably it will still be as tall as it is now? I was trying to figure out how they'd bowl that in and at the same time "hope" to keep capacity above 70,000. I guess the answer is either it won't go up as high OR probably more likely there will be more room between rows? I haven't sat in that end zone for years, and maybe only sat there one time (ISU 2006) but I think I've read plenty of comments about it being pretty tight... although I also assume many of the complaining people are 50 pounds overweight. Just watch though, we'll have at least 2-3 people reply to me saying they are 6'4" 230 and all muscle and it's too tight for them :rolleyes:
My assumption is that the capacity question will have two answers. One, the corners will have seats. That will account for some of the lost seats from the increased leg room. The other will be the addition of more in indoor club seating above the south end zone. My understanding is that not only will the bleachers wrap the corners, but the press box will also wrap from the East stand to the North, adding seats as well.
 
Luxury boxes above the east grandstand would be nice. The east side is a little to open for my taste. The sound levels inside Kinnick when it's rocking could get scary good.
 
Luxury boxes above the east grandstand would be nice. The east side is a little to open for my taste. The sound levels inside Kinnick when it's rocking could get scary good.
We know that's not possible, but 20 years from now when IA St. Is a mid-major football program and Iowa Football demands a 100k stadium, where will they build the new one?

Of course, this is if football still exists with the concussion issue...
 
They won't do luxury boxes on that side. They'd lose the nonstop advertising for UI Healthcare and block the new children's hospital.
 
If demo & construction really was really to begin in 6 months they would have already had to likely publicly bid the project by now so steel could be fabricated and ready to install this winter. That hasn't happened yet. At the very least the preliminary design would have needed Board of Regents approval by now to proceed to final design and bidding. Haven't seen that in the news either, so I would assume opening for the 2017 season is off the table. Earlier poster about Harreld delaying it to nail down funding sounds plausible
 
Presumably it will still be as tall as it is now? I was trying to figure out how they'd bowl that in and at the same time "hope" to keep capacity above 70,000. I guess the answer is either it won't go up as high OR probably more likely there will be more room between rows? I haven't sat in that end zone for years, and maybe only sat there one time (ISU 2006) but I think I've read plenty of comments about it being pretty tight... although I also assume many of the complaining people are 50 pounds overweight. Just watch though, we'll have at least 2-3 people reply to me saying they are 6'4" 230 and all muscle and it's too tight for them :rolleyes:

Suites will take up more room and less seats...
 
Presumably it will still be as tall as it is now? I was trying to figure out how they'd bowl that in and at the same time "hope" to keep capacity above 70,000. I guess the answer is either it won't go up as high OR probably more likely there will be more room between rows? I haven't sat in that end zone for years, and maybe only sat there one time (ISU 2006) but I think I've read plenty of comments about it being pretty tight... although I also assume many of the complaining people are 50 pounds overweight. Just watch though, we'll have at least 2-3 people reply to me saying they are 6'4" 230 and all muscle and it's too tight for them :rolleyes:


I've had my tickets there for 10 years. I am 5'10", 185 lbs & my knees hit the seat/person in front of me. I feel sorry for anyone taller or rounder than me that sits there...
 
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The official word has been that the soil on the east side won't take the weight of any more structure, so that's why the new pressbox/seating was built as one big piece on the west side. Whether there are any other behind the scenes issues about the east side I don't know. Would guess the relationship between the hospital and the athletic dept has not always been rosy over the years.

Would also guess the athletic dept would not really care if seating fell below 70K. Tighter supply = higher prices.
 
Would also guess the athletic dept would not really care if seating fell below 70K. Tighter supply = higher prices.

Yes, the recent trend has been to slightly reduce capacity to increase ticket scarcity. More suites and less seats.
 
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