Tag: Bob Marton

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Arts & Entertainment Development News

VIDEO: Bearcats Prepare For Season Opener at Renovated Nippert Stadium

The University of Cincinnati is less than one month away from welcoming college football fans back to one of the nation’s most historic stadiums.

After a year away from the friendly confines of Nippert Stadium, the Cincinnati Bearcats will host Alabama A&M on Sunday, September 6. School officials say that the game is not yet sold out, but that ticket sales have been brisk. There are big hopes for this season as the team comes back to a renovated and expanded stadium. It also comes at a time when the University of Cincinnati is trying to position itself for a potential spot in the ACC or Big 12 Conference.

The $86 million renovation and expansion of Nippert Stadium, which was designed by Heery International and paid for entirely with private funds, is expected to help bolster those chances of landing in one of the nation’s top athletic conferences.

With less than a month before the first game of the season, construction workers and cleaners are busy preparing the facility.

In a unique situation for the University of Cincinnati, the readying of the stadium is also significant for the return of students to campus at the end of this month. This is due to the fact that the stadium, unlike almost all other major college football venues, is open at all times and used by students for recreational purposes, and as a pathway to navigate the densely built campus.

Bob Marton, project manager for the Nippert Stadium reconstruction project, says that while much work remains it is fully expected that the facility will open on-time, and within the targeted budget.

Those who are interested in attending the home opener at the newly reopened Nippert Stadium can still purchase tickets online for the game.

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Development News

VIDEO: $86 Million Renovation of Nippert Stadium Nearing Completion

The $86 million renovation and expansion of the University of Cincinnati’s historic Nippert Stadium is nearly complete.

According to project officials, the work is expected to be complete in time for the Bearcats to host their first game back on campus – after a year away at Paul Brown Stadium – in three months.

The latest project video update reveals that virtually all exterior work is now complete, and that crews are now focused on interior finishings, along with some exterior facade treatments. They also note that the dramatic roll-open windows on the press boxes will soon go in, along with the ribbon scoreboards on both the east and west sides of the 114-year-old stadium.

Designed by New York-based Architecture Research Office and Heery International, the modern architectural style continues a trend on UC’s main campus of blending contemporary with historic designs. The large glass facade on the back side of the western concourse will, perhaps, serve as the best example of this as it looms over the historic, yet modern Tangeman University Center and internationally acclaimed UC Main Street.

The new Nippert Stadium will have an increased seating capacity of 40,000, and boast luxury boxes, press suites, new lounges, and a sorely needed expanded offering of restrooms and concessions stalls.

Originally projected to cost between $80-85 million, University officials say that the $86 million project is being funded through private donations and premium seat revenues.

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Development News

VIDEO: Workers Looking To Make Up Lost Time On $86M Nippert Stadium Project

The exterior structure is now largely complete for the $86 million Nippert Stadium renovation and expansion project.

According to project manager Bob Marton, the construction team will now largely be focused on interior work, but that the exterior façade will really take shape over the next few weeks.

Similar to other construction projects around the city, the brutally cold and snowy weather lately has slowed down progress. Marton says, however, that they were able to shift some workers to interior projects, and that they will work some extra shifts to make up the lost time.

“We were able to put a lot of workers indoors, but the weather really slowed us down on the outside,” Marton explained in the latest project update. “We need to keep that work rolling as much as we can, because we want to get enclosed by the end of the month.”

He went on to say that the weather caused three to four days of delay. While work will continue to blaze ahead over the coming months in preparation of the University of Cincinnati’s home season football opener on Saturday, September 5 against Alabama A&M.

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Development News

VIDEO: $86M Nippert Stadium Renovation On-Schedule for August Opening

With the college football season behind us, the $86 million renovation and expansion of Nippert Stadium is now in its home stretch. At this point, the majority of structure work is now complete and interior work is now advancing during the cold weather.

The project is more of a renovation than it is an expansion. As part of the upgrades just a few thousand more seats will be added, along with the luxury boxes, overhauled concessions and restrooms, lounges and new technology that define the project.

A challenge from the beginning, however, was adding the new amenities in an environment severely constrained by existing buildings that at some points already help frame the stadium’s exterior. In order to accomplish that, New York-based Architecture Research Office, in collaboration with Heery International, designed it so that the structure would move upward along structure’s west side that sits adjacent to Tangeman University Center. The final results are interesting and unpredictable in a manner that should only add to the venue’s notoriety as the Wrigley Field of college football.

As part of the effort to upgrade the 114-year-old stadium, the University of Cincinnati has been issuing video updates about every three weeks. The latest includes Tom Gelehrter, Senior Director of New Media and Broadcasting at Bearcats Athletics, talking with project manager Bob Marton about recent progress that has been made and looking ahead to what is next.

One of the more notable changes in this update was the start of drilling work on the east concourse, which will eventually allow for construction of the two-story restroom and concession facility, stairways and light poles.

“A year ago we were drilling in this building, and now we’re drilling on the other side,” Marton explained in the the 5:29 video update. “We’ve got two levels of drilling going on…and that’s about a week’s worth of work.”

Due to the careful scheduling of construction activities, project officials do not anticipate ongoing cold temperatures to cause much of an issue since they had gone through it once before when drilling on the west side of the stadium last year.

If the project stays on schedule, it is expected to be complete by August 2015 – just ahead of this year’s September home opener for the Bearcats.

EDITORIAL NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that FRCH Design Worldwide was the architect of record for this project. In fact, FRCH produced the project’s conceptual designs, while Architecture Research Office and Heery International were the primary designers.