Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione on Monday "beamed like a proud father" when discussing the $160M renovation project at Memorial Stadium, where the "finishing touches were being completed on the venue’s south end zone area," according to Eric Bailey of TULSA WORLD. The stadium’s capacity is 83,489 (a current increase of about 1,500-1,800), but the outside work "won’t be complete until next spring," though the interior "will be game ready." Castiglione said, "If we had to have the game right now, it would operate" (TULSA WORLD, 8/30). In Oklahoma, Adam Troxtell noted any fans who had a favorite spot inside the stadium "may want to rethink that this year" based on Castiglione's "impression of the new fan plazas in the soon-to-be complete renovations." Castiglione: "The go-to areas will be those fan plazas. They’re fantastic, and there’s one in each corner. When you’re looking at the fan plaza, you see one of the concession stands that actually faces the field. There’s also a large fan plaza at the top, right under and behind the video board.” Troxtell noted the renovations will "produce 22 suites, 60 open-air boxes and more than 1,900 fan club seats, in addition to the fan plazas and video board" (NORMAN TRANSCRIPT, 8/30).
