TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | WIRELESS
CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBER SERVICES | SIGN IN SIGN OUT | MY PROFILE PAGE | MY ACCOUNT

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on RSS
Sports Extra!
Follow us on ...
OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | FANTASY | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL




SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS
    Sports Editor
Mike Strain
Sports Columnist
Dave Sittler
The Picker
Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA



Newspaper View Newspaper View      Print this story Print      Email this story Email     
Share      Bookmark Bookmark

OU aware of 'wow' factor

An image of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is projected on the large videoscreen as the team prepares to run a play during a recent practice.TONY GUTIERREZ/Associated Press

 
By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Published: 9/4/2009  2:20 AM
Last Modified: 9/4/2009  7:44 PM

 NORMAN — Oklahoma assistant Jackie Shipp tells his defensive tackles, "No matter where you play, it's still a football game, playing in front of 10 people or 10,000 people. You've still got to go down there and handle your business."

Starting defensive tackle Adrian Taylor gets that. But he's also from Mansfield, Texas, and the home in which he grew up is 10 minutes from Cowboys Stadium, the $1.15 billion colossus that will host Saturday night's OU-BYU season opener.

Listening to him, you get the feeling Shipp might repeat himself right up to the 6 p.m. kickoff.

"I didn't know what it was," Taylor said. "I was like, 'What is this? That thing is huge, whatever it is.' As time went on, I learned that it was going to be the stadium. And I was like, 'Wooow.'

"And then they told us we were going to play there. I was like, 'Wooow.' "

Bob Stoops won't want the Sooners that open-mouthed come game time. So he has joined Shipp and staff members in their programming of players' minds.

"I've heard what everyone else has, that it's awesome, amazing, every positive adjective you can think of. And I'm sure it will be," Stoops said. "In the end, that's good for everybody else. I'm just going to look at the 100 yards of field, and hopefully go down there and play a good game."

The players have gotten the points. The stadium, particularly the $40 million video board that stretches from one 20-yard line to the other, is pretty awesome.

"I'm ready to see myself up there," wide receiver Ryan Broyles said.

"You start peeking up there and try not to make it look too obvious," wideout Mossis Madu said, grinning.

At the same time, no high-definition replay is going to help the Sooners beat BYU.

"It's a beautiful thing, right by Six Flags and the baseball stadium and all that," Taylor said. "But in the end, we've still got a game to play. We can't worry about the stadium. We have to go down there and play our game."

Things to find at the stadium:

  • Over 500,000 square feet of glass and stone, plus 26,000 tons of steel


  • The largest domed roof in the world, coming in at 660,800 feet. It will be closed at game time.


  • 10 high-definition video boards, including the 160-by-72-foot monster hanging 90 feet above the field. The one Tress Way will try to hit.


  • A seating capacity of 80,000, which includes those who can afford a view from one of the 300 luxury suites


  • Six Bank of America ATMs on the main and upper concourses. You’ll need them.


  • Cheeseburgers and nachos for $8.50, popcorn and hot dogs for $5.50 and soda and bottled water for $5.


  • Parking for anywhere between $15- $40.


  • Guest Services Centers, where you can take your parking complaints or high-def compliments, behind Sections 219, 244, 420 and 451


  • Over 1,600 toilets. This is no Cotton Bowl.


  • A Cowboys Pro Shop on the north-west side of the stadium. They’re ready to make you a deal on Terrell Owens jerseys.


  • 22 escalators and 18 elevators, which you might appreciate after that walk from the parking lot


  • 12 miles of handrails


  • A price tag of $1.15 billion

Three things fans should look for:

1. The space in the place

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently told the Houston Chronicle that reliant Stadium “started me down the road of trying to create as airy a place as we could.” Seems he has succeeded. From the Cowboys’ stadium fan guide: “The Statue of Liberty could stand on the star in the middle of the field and the roof could close and still not touch her flame.”

2. The video board

At a cost of $40 million, it hangs 90 feet above the playing field. It contains 30 million bulbs and covers 25,000 square feet. Depending on your seat, you’ll probably want to pay more attention to the board than the field. Also, keep an eye on the punters during pregame warmups. no doubt they’ll be trying to mimic nFL punters who have taken target practice before and during exhibition games.

3. The Cowboys Pro Shop

Might as well get some Christmas shopping done early. If you have any Cowboy fans in the family, you won’t find a better resource than this two-floor, 18,000-square foot treasure trove. The shop is so big it has its own Facebook page. no kidding. You’ll find it on the northwest side of the stadium.
Guerin Emig 581-8355
guerin.emig@tulsaworld.com
By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer

Newspaper View Newspaper View      Print this story Print      Email this story Email     
Share      Bookmark Bookmark


COMMENTS 
      Add your comment Show: Most Recent Comment First

1 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
Report Comment Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you.  -- Web Editor Jason Collington
 

 
Report Comment
SoonerDJ, Lisbon, Portugal (9/5/2009 2:06:35 AM)
I've heard that parking is a nightmare. I took that part of watching a college game with a grain of salt until I saw OU/WVU game in Phoenix. I was in and out of the parking lot in no time at all. Jerry should have put some thought into the parking lot layout for ease of use and non-congested traffic. Anyone hear anything similar?
 

 
Add Your Comment 
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.

 
Post Your Comment
 



Home | About Tulsa World | Advertise With Us | Privacy | Usage Agreement | FAQ and Help | Contact Us | Today's Headlines
Copyright © 2010, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.