With all the talk of increased season ticket sales and the completion of the IPF coming near, I think the next logical step is stadium expansion.  For a very long time, Peden talk was fun to think about but seemed like a pipe dream.  I do not believe it is unrealistic anymore.  We are winning consistently, and starting to see the rewards of that with increased attendance.  The Marshall and Temple games last year were approaching Pitt level without a top notch opponent.

One proposal I've seen a lot of on here would be to add a second deck above the student side.  While this would add a quality amount of seating, and help the feel of Peden, I think our better bet for helping the feel of Peden would be knocking down the two corner bleacher sections.  I would like to see Peden become a complete horseshoe with the seats extending down to the same level as the two main grandstands along the sideline.  The issue I would see with this over the other option, would be the addition of less than prime seating.  I think part of the reason those corner seats are unappealing is because they are disconnected (different height) then the rest of the stadium, however their location with respect to the field certainly isn't prime.  Those are the only two options I've seen discussed, if anyone has other ideas please mention them.  I really can't see an expansion going higher than 35,000, and even that would be high.

I don't expect the timeline for this to be fast, but I really see this as the next big fundraising platform for the AD.  If we have the season we think we can have, I think we'd be able to raise significant funds this year.  Especially if these games sell out.  If I'm missing some other big AD capital funding issue, I'd love to know what that is.

I've thought about this a lot.  There is no need to expand Peden to beyond 35K.

Those corner sections aren't "bleachers."  They have concrete flooring.  If you've been to the new Akron stadium, 2/3 of the seating is exactly the same, but with steel flooring.

They are higher to establish unimpeded sightlines.

My suggestion, and the easiest and most economical, is to complete the horseshoe on the same elevated level as the two corner sections, but have the seating on this inner "wedge" extend all the way down the field.  I don't think they can extend the two corner sections down to the field because the areas beneath them are walkways and it would be too dark/cavernous under there.  By completing with this inner wedge, it would give that end of the stadium a much more finished look.  And please use brick on the trim to add class/consistency.  Also give some thought to adding a mini tower to the back of this inner wedge for hospitality areas and 5-6 "loges."

First, Nippert in cincinnati has been a "horseshoe" for it's entire life.  They added some "higher" seats in the corners.

Personally, I hate corner and end zone seats.  So, I say if you do it, add on to one side or the other between the 20 yard lines and give people good views of the field.

I could not agree more with this, especially tearing down the student side and rebuilding a new deck or two over there.  IMHO the student side deck is very small, looks small on TV and for the most part is decrepit.  In fact, I'd be in favor of tearing down all of Peden Stadium and rebuidling from scratch, but I know that will never happen as the $ is just not there.  But the student decking is just terrible and really makes OUr program seem smalltime and minor.  Replacing it seems like a great start to me.  I think the idea of a bigger, more modern scoreboard is a great idea too.

It seems appropriate to me to be asking these questions, and to be starting to assemble ideas. I think everyone agrees it isn't time to build something, but how long has it taken from when the IPF was conceived, to get it from an idea, to a concept, to a funded concept, to a real building? I think it's about a 5-6 year timeline, so planning well ahead is necessary.

This is what I've always said. Example number one is right across the street. Look what the Convo does for Ohio basketball. Peden stadium is simply a subpar Division 1 football facility. no matter how we try to dress it up, nothing short of a  major renovation, one that involves some destruction, can save it.

Attendance bumps because of the look of the venue are minimal at best and are short term. People came to Jacobs Field in the early years because the team was good. The team stinks now, ballpark looks the same and it doesn't draw flys.

If anyone questions this, they need look no further than Akron. In the end it's the product on the field people come to see. I do think, though, that the quality of the stadium affects the price you can charge. People expect to pay more to sit in a nice stadium.

We're close to the action on what basis? Are the sideline seats any closer than the average sideline seats?  The average seat might be closer because, again, it's small, but what I'm asking is... is 25 rows up on the 50 any closer than 25 rows up on the 50 at another venue?  With the track, we lost that battle to anyone with a football only facility.  I suppose things improved when we added seats closer to the field - that improved the average seat's "closeness".  That said, the stadium still offers a poorer sightline on average because the stands aren't steep enough.  Bringing kids to the game can be quite a hassle because they can't even see over smaller adults in front of them.

No one's talking about becoming Neyland stadium here.  We have a tiny stadium. It could be expanded to a reasonable and realistic degree, while adding very good seats, getting rid of the worst seats, and keeping the intimate feel of a small stadium.

I can't imagine how awesome Akron's stadium would be on our campus. Take our fans and our campus and their stadium? Fuhgettaboutit!  And that's only a few thousand more than Peden's overflow capacity. Marshall, before they expanded, is another good example. Fantastic stadium, only 30k seats

Article from back in 2000: http://www.ohio.edu/ohiotoday/winter00/departments/gandw/peden.html

I assume the new indoor facility is too close to Peden for a deck to be constructed.

Lot of great comments and suggestions, I'll echo some of my preferences-

- I agree that the small time look of Peden hinders enthusiasm. The Convo analogy was perfect.

- No horseshoe. get rid of the corner segments (looks terrible) and build something(?) straight across to capture sound. Love the idea of a jumbotron you can see from the highway.

- crazy idea alert- we could use the north end to create something that would make the stadium unique. You ever go to a minor league baseball game? they always have crazy stuff behind the outfield wall like big patios or hot tubs. How bout recreating the Greenery's dance floor, complete with DJ? that way after half time instead of leaving to go uptown they can stay and go shake their groove thing at the game if they want.

- I agree that the student side should be torn down and rebuilt.  make it look like the student side of Infocision.

- if the stadium is renamed I suggest Ohio's Tate Stadium, but spell it as Ohio'StateStadium. Screw 'em. if not that then Peden or Bobcat Stadium will suffice.

- Seating capacity- 35K with an option to expand to 40K would be ideal. I came up with 35K by looking at the two closest schools (not in Columbus), Marshall and UCincinnati. I think these two schools give us a good idea of what out potential could be based on our similarities and differences. Here are some data points to consider-

Current Seating Capacity-
OU- 24,000
MU- 38,019
UC- 35,097

Avg Attendance (2010)
OU- 19,046
MU- 27,046
UC- 35,067

Students
OU- 20,857
MU- 14,196
UC- 33,329

Living Alumni
OU- 197,000
MU- 75,059
UC- 252,964

County Population
OU- 64,759
MU- 96,319
UC- 800,362

Compared to Marshall we have a slightly smaller local population but a much larger pool of Alumni and current students to drawn from, they have a better history of fan support and we both have to deal with an instate gorilla. It seems reasonable that with a stadium expansion and a continued level of success we could match or even exceed their numbers.

Compared to Cinncinati we are outgunned in local population, current students, and living alumni. On top of that they are in an AQ conference and are in the one corner of the state that arguably doesn't suckle from the Buckeye teet as fervently as the rest of the state does. Matching their attendance output would be a significant achievement given these variances.

Based on all of that I think an attendance number of 28K-32K would be the realistic top end and therefore a stadium with a capacity of 35K would be optimal.

p.s. here's some added perspective- Boise State with all of their success and lack of any local 800lb gorilla to share fans with averaged 32K in 2010.

The problem is that if you wait until you legitimately need more seating, then it's already too late.  I'd definitely be in favor of knocking down the corner sections and squaring it off as others have mentioned.  Though I'm sure people wouldn't like the association, knocking down the corners and putting in an end zone section such as the one that O$U has for their student section would be a great move.  Then, you could either move the student section to the endzone or make it "premium" type seating.

I think this makes more sense as it would still leave the option open for adding another level around the entire stadium.  It'd also be really cool if they could add some sort of an observation deck / beer garden that looked over Peden and West Green to give the stadium something unique.  

That being said, the bulk of the money is going to have to come from one large private donation or a few big ones combined together.  I just can't see stadium expansion going through otherwise.

Concourse/restrooms/concessions absolutely need upgrades.  The concourse is just too dark.  The concourse at Infocision is awesome.  Akron really did it right.