Tonight

[NT91]

How was it?

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

It was good for me.

[Green Crazy]

It was good for me.

Were attendees asked not to talk about it? I figured this board would be full of posts about tonight's event. No new uniforms were revealed?

Edited July 31, 2011 by Green Crazy

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Dude, you could walk anywhere. My 5-year old dragged me up to the corner of the winged end zone seats twice...folks...that's a long ass haul up those steps. If McCarney has the team run those steps twice a day, we'll be national champs this year - print the shirts now!

[jtm0097]

I had a great time at the event. There was a good crowd, and we got to hear Coach McCarney and RV speak. I bought a new nike hat at the team store, found my seats, and I walked around on the field. I also got to speak to Kenneth Lyons at the stadium. I had fun at the event and look forward to going again next year. Go Mean Green!

[MeanGreenGlory]

It was great. The stadium is truly a top notch facility. It was a fantastic feeling walking into the stadium tonight for the first time, but I cannot wait to walk into it for the first home game against Houston when the team is on the field!

[UNT 90 Grad]

I had a great time with my family there. The hot dogs were about as good as any game dog you get. The stadium was fantastic. It was great getting to go down on the turf and experience its quality. The kids enjoyed the bounce house, photo ops with Scrappy, the free tatoos & North Texas eye black, and most of all the free Beth Marie's ice cream.

I didn't get to hear Coach Mac and RV speak because I didn't want to lose my place in line to go upstairs. They were using the service elevator and had the ticket holder elevators and stairs closed off. Cheerleaders were operating the elevators. I was disappointed that they didn't let us up to the suite level. I thought I read we'd be able to go up there, but the club level was as great as advertised.

My wife said the hand dryer arrangement was odd in the women's room. She said there was only one hand dryer and it was around the corner from the sinks. That was the only complaint I heard from my family.

I couldn't find my paver stone around the Alumni Pavilion, I guess I'll need to follow up on that.

I was pleasantly surprised with the variety of merchandise in the team store after readint the negative posts on the board. I suppose my expectations were just low, but knowing that there would be more stuff in the future.

There was a great turn out. They didn't open the gates until right at 5pm, which was a bummer for all the folks hanging out in the sun on the West side of the stadium with the sun beating down on us.

That's my random scatter shooting on the event. It was definitely worth the time and drive.

[ColoradoEagle]

I took some more pics.

Here's what I said in the other thread. Didn't know if we'd start a new one:

The stadium is positively amazing. At no point walking through it did I ever have the thought of "I wish they did X instead." Every last detail of it feels professional, and far exceeded my expectations. Take someone to Rangers Ballpark and then to Mean Green Stadium, and they'd feel no drop in quality.

Have to admit, I am very jealous of you guys who can afford the club seating. Maybe next year for me, nice to have dreams, though.

Also a couple goofing off vids from the wingzone. If you view them on YouTube instead of embedded here, they're available in 720p. Still taken with a cell phone, though.

Edited July 31, 2011 by ColoradoEagle

[All About UNT]

I had an awesome time and took two alum with me who had little interest in the program. By the end of the McCarney/RV Speech they were in line to buy season tickets they just didn't like the ultimate cost of it and didn't qualify anymore for the the recent alum pricing. They both said that they were very glad to see the stadium, the 1500+ fans that made it out....and to see both Coach and RV really rev us up. One side note....the store would have sold more goods if the season tickets sales section didn't share space with them. Both sides (ticket sales and merchandise sales) had good sized lines and I heard RV state that over 600 Club seats were sold and he was very confident that all would be sold by the start of the year. My friends were extremely jealous of my seats (lower bowl area) and it really spurned them to want to buy seats they just couldn't pull the trigger. I had an awesome time and it exceeded anything I thought would occur.

[UNTLifer]

Awesome! I would estimate there were 5,000 to 7,000 people there. Unbelievable facility. My nephew and I were interviewed by the NT Daily as an alumni and current student. Best stadium in Texas and it isn't even close on a collegiate level. The wing zone is great and the view from the point is great. Not a bad seat in the house.

[Mean Green 93-98]

I would estimate there were 5,000 to 7,000 people there.

That is amazing! I've never been able to make it--how many people have generally showed up in years past?

[UNTLifer]

I'd never been in the past, but the AC Lot was full, the lot beneath the wing zone was full, the grass field across Bonnie Brae had a couple of rows of cars and people were parking down as far as the soccer field parking.

[AstroMike]

I thought it was great. I also climbed up to the top corner of the wing. That was quite a trek up there, but the view was great. It is a top-notch state of the art facility. We have alot to be proud of and build on for the future.

I bought an Nike hat and polo shirt at the gift shop. I have a question though: what was up with the white mini helmets they were selling in the shop? The looked like our white helmets the last few years excpect the letter were black and whit and not green.

[THOR]

That is amazing! I've never been able to make it--how many people have generally showed up in years past?

tonight seemed to have as many/more than the last 3-4 years that i've gone COMBINED! it was insanely awesome! all was great...seats...food...BEER...everything.

they even had papers attached to some seats that were available that gave the cost to own those seats. you just had to grab the paper and take it to the ticket office and the seats were yours...thought that was cool as hell! great night!

[ColoradoEagle]

tonight seemed to have as many/more than the last 3-4 years that i've gone COMBINED! it was insanely awesome! all was great...seats...food...BEER...everything.

they even had papers attached to some seats that were available that gave the cost to own those seats. you just had to grab the paper and take it to the ticket office and the seats were yours...thought that was cool as hell! great night!

It was a very well put together event. The papers for the season tickets, I'm wondering if they put those on all the seats that were actually for sale? If so, a hell of a lot of seats have been sold already. Much more than I expected.

[FirefightnRick]

Great event. The wing zone is crazy high with 137 steps from it's base at the mezzanine to the wing tip. Id guess it's 6 to 8 stories high?

I like how the wind blew through the concourse on the south end keeping it rather cool in what had to be a good test for a hot day. And the press box is high enough that for a 6 pm kickoff half the field is shadowed so the home side will have plenty of shade for the September sun.

I was impressed with the field and how soft it was to run on. The players are going to love it. I get the feeling with the size of the crowd that showed today that parking is going to be a nightmare on game day. Gonna have to get there early for sure. There's going to be some great spots to tailgate though, no doubt about it.

The Club area is much larger than I thought it would be, and at 12,000 sqft will be able to host just about any event you want in there.

Also, they laid out the bonfire pond and surrounding landscaping in such a way that is set to make the North Texas homecoming a very unique experience than any other that people will not want to miss. Very cool!

Its still being hammered out but I'm looking forward to seeing where they place Boomer on game days. I've spent nearly 100 hours on him this summer getting him ready for his new home. Can't wait to hear what he sounds like in that sucker. Gonna be very very loud!

Rick

Edited July 31, 2011 by FirefightnRick

[THOR]

the student side is going to be hot until the sun goes down...hope they have pleny of energy!

and the visitors are going to hate life on the sidelines!!!

[UNTcrazy727]

After walking to the student side it made me wonder why our games start at 6. The student section will literally fry for the entire first half the first few games. I know pretty much all the Texas schools start their games at 6, but it's going to be brutal standing over there.

[LongJim]

Not disputing what Lifer posted as far as total people who came through, but if I was guessing, I would have put the number at around 3K or so. I talked to a staffer and asked point blank: "How's the turnout?" Her answer was "Fantastic. Much better than we expected. We had over a thousand RSVP, and the walkup has been amazing. Everybody wants to see the new place."

Personally, I thought it was a great turnout, and the looks on faces shouted "Wow! First class!" It's terrific for UNT. Truly a first class facility, and the equal of any program in this part of the country. I asked my wife what she thought of the place--pointedly referencing Ford, and she said "Oh, it's nicer. No question."

And, as I expected--the wing zone had more people crawling over it and perched atop it than probably many thought. I took a look at the number of rows, and to give a size comparison, the Wing Zone has 46 rows into the "points" at each end. The top row of the upper deck at DKR has 53. Obviously there are differences in size, but that gives a comparison, and it's pretty imposing. Terrific view up there, and could really provide home field advantage in that end.

Here's a few photos from our visit.

Edited July 31, 2011 by LongJim

[KRAM1]

Had a wonderful time...even went to see the new Alumni Pavilion and checked out my paver and its location. That place is going to be a wonderful place to "meet and greet" before games.

I am pretty much speechless after the event last evening. I cannot imagine how it could have gone any better. The stadium looked fantastic, of course, and everyone in attendance was really excited. I saw lots of people carrying around these seat "tags" and heading into the fan shop to buy season tickets. It will be interesting to see how many season tickets are sold this season. Over 600 of the approximately 800 Club Level seats have been sold and RV expects them all to be sold before Sept.10th. How great is that?

Lots of open spaces at the stadium that will allow for ease of entry and exit...the ticket booths look great, it was wonderful to finally have a "fan shop" at the stadium, the Club level is absolutely amazing, etc., etc., etc. Don't know what else I can say as I am running out of superlatives this morning. Great to see so many GMG.com members having a great time.

[UNT90]

After walking to the student side it made me wonder why our games start at 6. The student section will literally fry for the entire first half the first few games. I know pretty much all the Texas schools start their games at 6, but it's going to be brutal standing over there.

Keep in mind that only 1 home game will be played in Summer conditions (Sept. 10). By the Indiana game, temperatures could very well be only in the high 80s by kickoff.

And, that sun will be quite advantageous during the WKU and Middle Tennessee games. You may want that sun in late November and early December.

Edited July 31, 2011 by UNT90

[bstnsportsfan3]

The sun issue is no different for the students then it was at fouts...i dont know how many games the last 4 years while i was a student that i didnt fry...and it was still worth it to me to watch our team play (though we never won a game that i saw) i just drank LOTS AND LOTS.... of bottled water

[greenminer]

(though we never won a game that i saw)

This doesn't lend itself to or against your point at all, and only revisits pain.

How many times do you need to bring that up; do you enjoy the pain?

[bstnsportsfan3]

This doesn't lend itself to or against your point at all, and only revisits pain.

How many times do you need to bring that up; do you enjoy the pain?

i guess i bring it up until i finally see us win a game in person... thankfully i did see us win vs ball state all be it on the jumbotron at clark park...and have seen us win several other road games via internet. (i fully expect to see that first win vs UH in the new stadium)

Edited July 31, 2011 by bstnsportsfan3

[golfingomez]

$2 beer and i convinced my friend (who gets a free ticket because he's working on his masters) to join the rest of us and buy a season ticket to sit in the lower bowl home side (the two dollar beers might have had something to do with this)

... yeah, it was a lot of fun

Edited August 1, 2011 by golfingomez