Sorry for hijacking the thread with a long winded, potentially irrelevant post. Some of these ideas may have been in my head because I read them on here (I know a few are) so if you posted it first, please take credit for it.
If we renovate, tear down the student side and build steeper, larger sitting areas. Take down the wings on the endzone and redo that side; maybe square it off.
I doubt we see anything until next year about expanding, but I think they'll definantly start discussing it. My .02...
1) Figure out how to maximize decibals. Talk to the firms who do the best stadiums. Reach out to the firm that worked on renovations for Autzen Stadium. At 54,000 capacity, they are probably louder than the Shoe, the Swamp, and just about any stadium in the country not domed. They reached 127 decibals once. Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Autzen is known for its crowd noise. Due to the stadium's relatively small footprint, the fans are very close to the action, and the field is sunken. These factors contribute to the loudness of the stadium even though it is smaller than other 'noise comparable' stadiums.[20] According to many in the Pac-10, it was actually even louder prior to the most recent expansion because the noise reverberated all the way up the stadium and bounced back down to the field—the so-called "Autzen bounce." Oregon officials say that any future expansions will trap more noise.[2
This is what we need to look at for stadium expansion. Build the architecture in a way that it traps the sound. Closed endzones, fans as close as possible, steeper bleachers so if they expand off that, they can add on easier.
2)I don't know how the process works with construction, but try to keep local construction firms in. On top of the pay, donate tickets to home games to the firm as an appreciative gift. Stadium built in Ohio by Ohio's people for Ohio's people. For fundraising, reach out to every local business possible. Reach out to large national corporations who don't have a footprint in Southeast Ohio. Again, show appreciation for them somehow and the return on it could be big. Reach out to the community itself. If we expand, keep prices for tickets resonably low (still gotta bump prices a bit, but keep it reasonable.) Reach out to the community, give Southeast Ohio something they can be proud of. God knows it needs it.
3) Market the living hell out of this move. Turn this area of the state into true Bobcat Nation. (Think Optimists GET OFF MY LAWN! mentality.) When local students are doing college visits, Ohio should be their first choice. Student athletes should DREAM of going to Ohio. Send representatives to local festivals or county fairs (ESPECIALLY the Pumpkin Show) if they're not out there already. Recruiting isn't only something Frank needs to be creative with. Selling point: We have the best stadium in the MAC, the best fanbase in the midwest, and one of the best coaching staffs (staves?) in the country. Year in and out, we get one of the top recruiting classes in the conference. This is not some Big Ten semi-pro team where you are just a face in the crowd. At Ohio, YOU are more than a face in the crowd. You're not a spectator, but a part of something. This may sound corny, but the thing I love about OUr athletic program is that it is a community. (Look at the differences between small towns and big cities for reference)
4) Reach out to local schools. Hocking College doesn't have athletics like us. Maybe reach out to Marietta and Shawnee State for the midweek games. There's room for a DIII and DI school to root for each other. Have a game where the school gets tickets, courtesy of our Fine institution. Maybe have a game where students at the schools in Athens and neighboring counties get a discount.
This is my pipe dream of Ohio. We're competators with Ohio State and Cincinnati. We have become to the MAC what Texas is to the Big XII. The crown jewel. All the others are competing to catch up with us. We use our power to push around the other weaker MAC schools on the field and force them to get better. Hell, we are the model for EMU, Buffalo, UMass, Miami. Because of that, the MAC becomes a conference that nobody takes lightly anymore. (Toledo, NIU, and another East team can help lead the charge.)
I realize that doing this would require two things: constant 12 or 13 win seasons (or 14) and a massive funding project. Can we do this? With our resources now, maybe not. But we need to have a goal of higher things, even if we're in the MAC. Our attendence is steering us that way. Capture the momentum of this season, carry it to basketball, hope it reaches baseball, and watch Ohio become THE mid-major of the East.