The University of Akron Athletics
InfoCision Stadium/Summa Field Blog Entry #4
March 13 | Football
This is the fourth installment of a monthly blog that chronicles the construction of InfoCision Stadium/Summa Field. Check back each month as GoZips.com Insider Josh Harris takes you behind the fences of the stadium construction site. Each blog entry will be accompanied by a photo gallery.
By Josh Harris
GoZips.com Insider
What could The Wizard of Oz and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
possibly have in connection with the gleaming new gem on the campus
of the University of Akron – InfoCision Stadium? Well, stick
with this blogger and you just might find that cinematic
masterpieces and timeless classics actually have more in common
than one could imagine with the future home of Zips football.
Before bringing up childhood memories of many, you may have noticed
in the past month we have gotten just a little bit of snow in
Northeast Ohio. While this highly understated comment might have
caused headaches for drivers and kept kids home with those sought
after snow days, work on InfoCision never stopped. Workers on the
site plowed right through the otherwise difficult and avoidable
weather. Some of the work that was completed during the
sub-freezing elements were done away from the sight of the
passerby. One visible area that has been receiving work is within
the bleacher area. The foundation for the seats for thousands of
Zips fans continued despite the falling snowflakes.
Now to those connections that InfoCision Stadium shares with fond
television and film memories. One of the great lines from The
Wizard of Oz is when the Great Oz is revealed, yet pleads with
Dorothy and her three friends "Pay no attention to that man behind
the curtain!" For the past six weeks or so, a curtain of sorts has
shrouded the press tower at InfoCision Stadium and many people
might be curious as to what is occurring behind it. Creating a wind
block for the upper floors of the tower, it also holds in warmth
from the portable heating units, allowing work to continue in what
would otherwise be an extremely windy and difficult place to
work.
The work that is going on behind the sheeting is not necessarily as
mystifying as the Great Oz, but is vitally important to the
construction of the stadium at this stage. Framing and stud work of
the interior walls of various floors has begun. The soffit has been
put in place on the club level. All of the concrete for the floors
of each level of the tower has also been poured at this point. The
stairways that lead from the ground floor to the seventh floor of
the tower are also well on their way to completion at this point.
One of the most exciting new additions to the stadium construction
site is the initial hanging of glass on the press tower. Glass has
begun to be hung on the exterior (or west side) of the press tower
as well as on the club level (or east side), which overlooks the
playing field.
In the iconic children's favorite Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,
the memorable character Yukon Cornelius was focused on the
commodities of "silver and gold". Two of the most notable changes
at InfoCision Stadium have come in the form of "silver and glass"
which for Zips football fans translates into a golden opportunity
to dream of the very near future. As the wrap comes off when warm
weather arrives, those visiting the stadium site will notice the
elevator shafts being framed in, as well as additional framework
which will provide more definition to each floor, restrooms will be
noticeable throughout the press tower. Glass is being staged on
many of the levels as well. Electrical conduit as well as heating
and cooling ductwork will also come into view. Observers of the
construction process will also notice the large amount of silver
stud framing which is occurring on the first three levels of the
press tower. This is making the shell or skin of those levels so
that they can be closed in cosmetically for future build-out. On
the ground level of the press tower, the important work of building
out the main electrical and teledata rooms is still going strong.
This provides the core for those systems to be branched out to
other parts of the stadium as work continues. Another "golden"
piece of the stadium process that Yukon Cornelius (and Zips fans
for that matter) will enjoy are the amenities on the main
concourse. On the west side restrooms, some doors have been hung in
these areas. Finish light fixtures have also been put into place
and are operational. The east side concourse (or visitors' side)
are still be built out.
As nice as the game day experience will be for those watching the
game, there would be no game without the Zips and their opponents
on any given day. Work on the facilities for both Akron and their
foes continue as well. The visitor locker room recently had the
concrete floor poured. Ceiling brackets, floor drains for restroom
and showers and air handlers are in place in the area as well. The
Zips game day area has received some of the most notable work on
stadium site recently. Housed just beyond the north end zone, near
the Stile Fieldhouse, the building has gained some true definition
to its shape. Workers are preparing to pour the concrete for floors
in this area. The second floor walls are being built out as
well.
The biggest and most notable change to the stadium in the past few
months has been the build out of the stadium's bleachers. Work in
this area is going very smoothly and quickly. The notable portion
of the bleachers that are missing so far are those on the southeast
corner of the stadium. Below these lie the visitor locker room and
until the concrete foundations for the bleacher are prepared, these
bleachers can't go into place and the concourse cannot be completed
with its restrooms and concessions areas. The remainder of the
bleachers on the home side of the field, which will cover the main
concourse, will begin to take shape once all of the club level
seating is detailed.
In the coming weeks, those who come by on their way to athletics
and other events on campus will notice a lot more glass being hung
on the exterior of the press tower on its east and west sides. They
will also witness more formation on the area where the ticket
office and team shop area will be housed (near the corner of
Exchange and Union Streets). Wiring for broadcast, teledata,
wireless and IT resources as well as suite and press level
detailing will continue beyond the direct sight of those going by
InfoCision Stadium.
InfoCision Stadium is beginning to take on a look and personality
that will certainly make all Zips fans proud. The true look and
feel of the stadium are finally starting to take place. So make it
a point to get down to the construction site and take it all in,
because the addition of something such as this only takes place
once in a lifetime. Until next time...GO ZIPS!
