Concessions is limited by space of stands, lack of cooking stations and no room in the concourse for lines or fans.

Great point, water boy!

When was the last time you were at an event with 20,000 people as saw them serve concessions out of 5 trailer size concessions? How did that work? We are limited by our physical structure, even to the extent that we cannot bring other trucks or carts really into the north end of the stands. Now is the time to go big!!!! 35,000-45,000 Interest is up, season tickets are at a record number. We need to think big! We have a new project going up in the North EZ, we can tie the new stadium right into that building, wider concourses, up to date facilities, rest rooms, and more importantly we can get to the 2nd largest arena in OHIO.

35,000-45,000 seats for Ohio Football? So we can have 25,000 empty seats on a Wednesday night in November? The demand is there for maybe two home games a year. The rest of the year, the demand is actually less than what Peden currently offers. Dress up, and clean up what we have now. I agree that it needs addressed, and needs to be modernized in terms of concessions, restrooms, and audio/video. But adding 10k or more in capacity would be an unwise investment that probably would not pay for itself in my lifetime.

Maybe they did, I don't know. What I do know is that this is a different era, one that generally demonstrates that adding capacity isn't a good investment. If those Wednesday night games were approaching capacity, they I'd quickly agree with you. Capacity in the mid 20k's is more than enough in Athens until proven otherwise in my opinion. MAC Championships, big wins over P5 teams, or being allowed to participate in big boy bowls sometime in the future might change all of that. Making the building look like it's from the current century is more important in my opinion.

All good additions to the reasons why not to add. I still think doing something to improve what's there now is important. Or, if it's deemed that renovations to the student side would be more costly than a demolition and rebuild, so be it. Capacity, in my mind, isn't as important as getting more out of the facility, and number of seats that are there now.

The way its supposed to work is Ohio is in contention for a MACC going into November and locals get on board with the cheap MACtion tickets. The truth of the matter is Ohio hasn't been in contention in November going on about 5 years. There are plenty enough people in a 30 mile radius of Athens and students on campus to put 24,000 in the house on a Tuesday night if there was something to play for.

And if that's the case, I say tear it down and build a simple, but functional two deck structure in it's place that has a similar capacity. I'm just not on board with the idea of adding 10,000 to 15,000 more seats that really aren't necessary. In another thread, I mentioned the look that App State has at their stadium opposite thier tower side. I got to see it this summer when I was in Boone, and it's pretty simple, but it would be an upgrade. How expensive it is, I've no idea. Their capacity is around that of Peden in the 23k range.


http://appalachianmagazine.org/sites/default/files/storie...

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7398/11802847914_b6c803e3a4...

I agree with BTC, we should level the student section and start over. Quite frankly, I would be shocked if it was not as cheap if not cheaper to simply eliminate the student side stands and build something in their place. Further, I wonder if it is too late to rethink the proposed Student Center in the north end zone? A better move would be to level the two (2) stands that are there now and build an entirely new north end zone incorporating both the Student Center and stands which would then tie into a new set of stands on the student side of the stadium. I would also make that a two (2) level/deck seating section with seriously upgraded facilities/concessions and locker rooms for visiting teams. As for the Tower side, outside of adding maybe a limited amount of additional seating, I am not sure what else could be done there. Finally, I would look to expand to somewhere in the 35,000 to 45,000 range. Perhaps 35,000 permanent seats with Victory Hill and other areas giving a more realistic SRO capacity of approximately 40,000. Remember, this is not something we will be doing every 10 or 20 years, so do it right. Or finally, level the entire stadium and start all over again. Sorry, but Peden right now is a dump and there is not a lot you can do to fix it up. Kind of like putting a band aide on a bleeding artery.

Consider both they, and App State have a track in between the field and the stands. I think a two deck approach would be better because it would offer increased space for concourses, restrooms, concessions. Also has the potential to get more people closer to the field.

When you are averaging 16 rows per deck and it sits right upon tops the field, with no track, the angles will be steep and lead to being a non pleasant experience.

Restrooms? You mean that place with the troughs you pee in?

+1