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Photos of the event (click here)
Imagine an octogenarian--male or female, it doesn’t matter--with a new set of threads and a facelift that only Phyllis Diller could truly appreciate, and you get an inkling of what has taken place at Ohio Stadium the last three years besides football.
You really don’t see, or even begin to comprehend, the magnitude of the renovation that has occurred at the revered landmark at The Ohio State University until you tour the massive Horseshoe and witness the transformation firsthand. Such was the opportunity that 40 members and guests of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter had May 8.
The tour was conducted by Tom Heretta of Ohio State, project coordinator for the renovation; Steve Cremean, a member of the Red Coat Corps, the home-game ushers; and Steve Timmerman of Turner Construction Co., contractor in charge of the project.
After assembling outside the main entrance to the stadium, IFMA members entered the field area by walking down the same ramp used by the Ohio State Marching Band on its appearances just before games. From there it was back into the stadium structure and up into the Huntington Club area on the west side. The Huntington Club serves as a gathering place and food area for those who are fortunate enough to occupy one of the luxury suites on that level that goes for $25,000 to $75,000 annually.
The group then climbed--actually they took an elevator--to the next level where the university’s trustees and other officials view activities with their guests, and then ascended to the top level where the media and football coaches view the action.
The next stops were the visiting team’s locker room, the football center where high school students are introduced to what Ohio State has to offer, the Buckeye locker room where a couple donned shoulder pads, and the band practice room.
Unique in design with its double-decked horseshoe look, Ohio Stadium is listed in the National Registry of Historic Buildings. Built in 1922 at a cost of $1.3 million to accommodate a crowd of 66,210, the renovated stadium has a capacity of 101,568 with 104,407 in attendance for the Illinois game in 2001.
The changes to the stadium during the first of the two-year project included lowering the playing field by 14 and one-half feet and adding a new scoreboard and permanent stands at the south end. A new “AA” deck was completed, and 19 new rows of seats were installed on the east side of “C” deck.
During the second year, all new bench seats were installed in the upper half of “A” deck and in all of “B” deck. Three rows of hospitality suites and new press box were completed on the west side, and 19 rows of seats were added to the northwest corner of “C” deck. Also, the concourses were widened in “B” and “C” decks, and the number of restrooms and concessions stands were increased dramatically.
The renovation cost $187 million with nearly 80 percent of that figure to be recovered through the sale of the 82 hospitality suites and the 2,500 club seats on the west side of the stadium. Naming rights gifts and revenue generated from increased ticket sales and concession income will cover the remaining 20 percent. No tax dollars or state or university money were used.
Next month the Chapter event shifts from football to golf for the 14th Annual IFMA Golf Outing, and with all the rainfall of this spring, Jim Yankle’s ability to provide a dry day will be put the ultimate test. Yankle, director of the IFMA Open, likes to boast, “It never rains on the golf course when the IFMA organization gets together for an afternoon.”
Also, look for someone else to carry home the big bucks now that Ron Black former Chapter president, is working for the U.S. Department of Defense in Spain. Black’s team captured the one skin of the day last year as well as a $300 pot.
The outing will be June 20, and will again be at the Shamrock Golf Club in Dublin. Stay tuned to the Website for other details on the event.