Oklahoma’s Palace Project is still moving, but the next real checkpoint is coming in November.
The OU board of regents didn’t take up the $450 million west-side renovation plan for Oklahoma Memorial Stadium at its meeting Tuesday in Oklahoma City. Still, athletic director Roger Denny said the project is close enough that revisions are being worked through and an update should be ready for the regents next month.
“I certainly think there will be a much more fulsome update around that time,” Denny said after the Tuesday meeting. “Whether or not they’re approving anything at that time, I’m not sure. But we’re getting pretty close to where we want to be on that.”
The Palace Project was announced last November, with plans to build several new premium suites and seats, along with a new press box on the west side of the stadium. The renovations would also mean season-ticket holders in long-held seats are moved, and capacity would drop by 7,000.
That kind of shift is never going to be easy with the common fan, but OU says it has been listening. Denny and OU president Joseph Harroz Jr. both said the school wants to make the best of the situation.
“We got a lot of feedback on those designs,” Harroz said Tuesday. “I’m sure you guys didn’t hear it.
But it makes you think, right? We’re moving pretty quick on that.
It’s such a monumental project that you need to get it right, and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
Denny said his previous work as Illinois’ deputy athletic director, where he helped update Fighting Illini’s Memorial Stadium, gave him a useful lens for the current plan.
“It’s great to have a fresh perspective and a fresh set of eyes,” Harroz said. “Roger, as you all have seen, is a unique talent.
The longer I’m with him, the more I realize he is the prototype for the new athletic director, and having his various experiences brought to bear on this, in combination with what we heard from the fans, both positive and negative, have really impacted how we think about this. We want to get it right.”
Denny said the school is still working hard on the project and trying not to rush the timeline.
“You don’t get a chance to do these often,” Denny said. “I’ve been here a long time, and since the time that I’ve been here, we did the upper east side project, the south side, and you just don’t get that many many opportunities in a few months.
So the status is we’re working hard on it. We’re going to have something, and we’re trying not to slip any timelines on it.
That’s the current plan, is not to miss any timelines on it.”
OU still plans to begin construction after the 2025 season and finish it before the 2028 campaign. Even with some fan skepticism over the summer, Denny said in August that the project is not going away.
“There’s no chance to do these ‘often,’” Denny said. “I’ve been here a long time, and since the time that I’ve been here, we did the upper east side project, the south side, and you just don’t get that many many opportunities in a few months.
So the status is we’re working hard on it. We’re going to have something, and we’re trying not to slip any timelines on it.
That’s the current plan, is not to miss any timelines on it.”
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