Ohio State announces $42 million stadium renovation that will slightly reduce seating capacity

In the never-ending facilities race in college football, Ohio State is the latest to take up arms in its effort to keep pace -- even as they will, in the end, fall a little further behind in the attendance game.

Tuesday afternoon, OSU announced an initiative that, when it receives the expected rubber-stamp approval of the school’s Board of Trustees, will pour $42 million into a renovation of Ohio Stadium. The most notable potion of the renovation is arguably the fact that, when it’s completed, the official capacity at Ohio Stadium will drop from its current 104,944 to 102,854.

From the release:

The university has been planning for this upgrade for several years. In 2014, seats were moved for the South Stands expansion. Prior to 2014, stadium seating capacity was 102,329. The 2014 project increased it to 104,944. In order to complete the next phase of the project announced today, an estimated 2,600 seats will be removed beginning with the 2018 season, returning the stadium to a gameday seating capacity of 102,854. Those seats will not be available for the 2016 season ticket holder seat selection process. However, they will be available this season for alumni and public purchase on a single-game basis. Even though seats will be removed, there will still be an overall gain of 525 seats over the pre-2014 south stand expansion. Most of the seats lost will be on B-deck in areas that can have obstructed views and where some fans traditionally consider the view to be less than ideal.

Despite the reduction in capacity, Ohio Stadium will maintain its spot at No. 3 in college football ahead of Texas A&M (102,733) and Tennessee (102,455) but still behind Michigan (107,601) and Penn State (106, 572).

The addition of premium seating that will reduce the overall seating capacity isn’t the only aspect of the renovation as other work will include...

• restore and re-coat the 94-year old concrete on C-deck.
• upgrade power distribution systems for the east, west and south stands.
• improve and upgrade B-deck to include better lighting, larger televisions, an improved sound system and better scoreboards, which will improve the experience of fans with obstructed-view seats.

“We are committed to providing our fans, players and coaches with one of the best facilities in the nation,” said OSU athletic director Gene Smith in a statement. “We knew we had to get some of this done in order to avoid future degradation of the cement on C-deck. At the same time, we have fans requesting upgraded seating options. We see this as a great opportunity to accomplish both projects. It’s an important investment in the stadium that is beloved by so many.”