[TDECU buys naming rights to new UH football stadium]

More details: There is an option to extend the deal for 5 more years at $7.5M. I'm sure Houston would not object, so it's TDECU's call. It could turn out to be a $22.5M deal over 15 years.

[TDECU buys naming rights to new UH football stadium]

The terms were confirmed at today's press conference: $15M over 10 years.

Highest football corporate naming rights total is Minnesota at $35M over 25 years. Several tied for 2nd at $20M.

Biggest football per year deal is Houston at $1.5M per. Minnesota 2nd at $1.4M per. Cal 3rd at $1.2M per. Several tied for 4th at $1M per.

[TDECU buys naming rights to new UH football stadium]

UH joins about a dozen Football Bowl Subdivision schools in the country who have sold CORPORATE naming rights to their football stadiums, among them Central Florida, Louisville, Rutgers, Texas Tech, North Texas, Wake Forest, Minnesota, California, Maryland and Boise State.

Gotta love the Houston Chronicle for omitting the key word. A lot more schools than those listed accepted money for naming rights. McLane Stadium at Baylor, Yulman Stadium at Tulane, Ford Stadium at SMU, etc.

They also left out Akron (Summa Field at Infocision Stadium), where the current Houston AD built a new stadium and sold corporate naming rights about seven years ago.

Maybe we find out the terms of the deal today at the press conference. Rumors are $15M for 10 years.

[New Houston Cougar Stadium]

I prefer Apogee.

Heck, there are some things I prefer about Apogee. For example:

1. I prefer the all concrete support structure. Steel supports are perfectly fine, but if we had the budget, I would have preferred concrete.

2. I prefer how close to the field the first row of seats are at Apogee. At the 50 yard line, the first row at Houston is probably 10-15 feet further away from the sideline than Apogee.

3. I prefer Apogee's LEED platinum certification, and the incorporation of the windmills for power needs.

4. I prefer that Apogee was built right next to the interstate. We looked at an interstate location, but ruled it out due to space constraints and infrastructure expense.

Certain differences were dictated by needs and location. For example:

1. North Texas apparently needed banquet space. And so a large portion of the club is a dedicated to that banquet room with all the windows. It looks very nice, but we already had banquet facilities. Our club level will look totally different. Much more of an upscale bar feel.

2. The UH stadium is located 3 miles from downtown Houston right in the middle of campus. North Texas is located in a smaller town. The settings and views, not to mention the parking situation, are completely different. Simply due to stadium placement, we have 3800 parking spots within 250 yards of the stadium. The land chosen by UNT for Apogee apparently doesn't lend itself to that kind of parking access.

Certain differences were design choices that aren't "right" or "wrong" but will evoke opinons based on personal preference:

1. Placement of premium seats;

2. Horseshoe vs. bowl

3. Open concourses vs. vomitories.

We each have our controversial bits:

1. The mesh skin exterior at UH;

2. The winged end zone at North Texas.

Certain things are very similar:

1. Lots of concessions and restrooms;

2. TV monitors at every concession stand;

3. Wide concourses;

4. Lots of leg room between rows;

5. Lower seating below grade;

6. Field turf, etc.

And certain things are just grander at the Houston stadium, which you would expect given the price difference:

1. The video board is twice as big;

2. The club seats are padded;

3. We have five times as many chairback seating options including loge boxes, party decks and suite decks;

4. We incorporated our marching band facilities into the football stadium.

As I said originally, I really like Apogee Stadium. I think y'all did a terrific job with it. And there are certain things about it that I prefer over our stadium. Would I trade stadiums with you? Nope. But then I am biased, and I would expect UNT fans to decline a trade based on bias too.

[New Houston Cougar Stadium]

How long till turf goes down?

Soon. We've installed the drainage and covered it in "gravel." Next, they'll roll the gravel and then install the field within a week or two.

Hopefully, we resume the series with North Texas soon. Coach McCarney has done a nice job.

View from the suites:

Drainage going in:

[New Houston Cougar Stadium]

Stumbled across this old thread. Wow - it escalated quickly. I'm ashamed our school had a couple of trolls derail the conversation.

I was at the Apogee opener in 2011, and was very impressed with your stadium. I loved the wide concourses, and all the leg room between rows. The build quality was awesome. And I liked how close to the field your first row of seats were.

I wasn't feeling the winged end zone. And the long walk from the Fouts parking lot was a pain. But those were the only two negatives.

Architecturally, Apogee's a very traditional stadium in almost every way. You weren't looking to break any new ground in that sense. But that's OK, because college football is nothing without tradition.

Our President and AD were also very impressed with your stadium. So much so that they asked how you funded it. Our fundraising was stuck at about $60M at the time. From discussions with your leaders, we decided to follow your lead and put a student fee to a vote. It passed in January 2012, and the rest is history. That fee will allow us to float $48M in bonds. Half was used for the football stadium. The other half will be used for the basketball arena renovation.

We're now getting close to finishing our new stadium. To correct some misstatements above, the stadium cost $120M. Unlike UCF (whose whole stadium is aluminum flooring) or Stanford and SMU (whose entire upper decks are aluminum flooring), our entire stadium is concrete everywhere you walk. Our lower bowl is concrete poured on grade, and our upper decks are prefab concrete. I have toured the stadium, and there is nothing temporary or flimsy about it.

We did use steel support beams for the upper decks, but so did A&M with their Kyle Field renovation. So did the 49ers with the new Levis Stadium. While concrete supports like those used at Apogee usually cost more than using steel, the difference in lifespan is negligible. For example, Robertson Stadium (built in 1942) was all concrete supports and it was very nearly condemned due to decay of those supports.

Anyway, when I think erector set, I think UCF. Maybe Stanford. After touring our stadium, I don't get an erector set feel at all.

We were very sensitive to air flow in the stadium, probably because of the negative feedback at BBVA Compass stadium on air flow in their lower bowl. It informed the controversial choice of the exterior skin. That skin is a single layer of powder coated mesh designed to allow air and natural light into the stadium. BBVA Compass Stadium used a double layer.

Another air flow decision is seen by the placement of the restrooms and concessions in the outer walls of the stadium, allowing for open concourses. This is different than BBVA Compass (and Apogee):

Other than air flow, the major design hallmarks of the stadium were:

1. Changing the orientation of the field slightly more East-West so the home fans can see the Houston skyline, and

2. Building the home club, suites, loge boxes as close to the field as possible.

We released our 3D seat viewfinder this week. I believe North Texas used the same company. It takes a second to load, but just click on any section of the stadium and it will show you the view of the field (and the skyline if on the home side).