By Harry Minium
It was the first time Old Dominion University's football players got an up-close and personal look at their new digs. And when they walked to the 50-yard line at S.B. Ballard Stadium and looked around, most reacted like Marcus Haynes, the sophomore defensive end from Bowie, Md.
"It sent chills up and down my spine thinking about making plays in front of our fans in a brand-new stadium," he said. "This is surreal for us. Words can't explain what this means to us.
"We knew it was going to be nice. But we didn't know it was going to be this nice."
Nor likely do many fans. The enormity of the how much better S.B. Ballard Stadium will be than the old Foreman Field is difficult to appreciate until you see it.
This is how the west side will look when ODU opens on Aug. 31 against Norfolk State.
More than 200 fans got a sneak preview on Saturday, when the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation held an open house to show fans the new stadium and answer questions about season tickets.
if you missed the open house, no worries. Check out this interactive site, which displays ticket prices and seat memberships for every section of the stadium.
The deadline for reserving season tickets is May 1.
Link to ODAF season ticket site
ODU is in the midst of a $67.5 million renovation of Ballard Stadium that is making over what most of what was an 82-year-old stadium whose fan amenities were lacking.
ODU's players, coaches and other athletic officials met Stephen Ballard, the stadium's namesake and whose construction firm is doing the reconstruction, at midfield, where he spoke for about 20 minutes.
He and other S.B. Ballard Construction officials explained the process of demolishing the old Foreman Field, drilling 675 piles into the ground, pouring 24 million pounds of concrete to form the foundation and installing 760 pieces of precast cement weighing more than 22 million pounds and that were pieced together to form the walls and buildings in the stadium.
So far, 2,400 truckloads of material have been unloaded at the construction site.
A rendering of the new scoreboard at S.B. Ballard Stadium. The video board will provide HD quality video on a much larger screen.
S.B. Ballard construction is now installing 3.8 million pounds of steel and aluminum that will form the stands.
Two things are eye-catching about the new stadium. It's much taller than the old Foreman Field, which stood 53 feet. The top of the West Side press box is 95 feet high, and the lights are 140 feet. The only building nearby that is as tall as the stadium is the Batten Arts and Letters Building.
Tony Palacioz, who oversees safety on the construction site, took a few people up to the top level of the west side, and the view from 85 feet, where the press box and some suites will be located, is breathtaking.
To the right you have a clear view of downtown Norfolk and to the left you can see the Norfolk International Terminals and the Norfolk Naval Base.
The same view will be available for many fans.
It also has the look and feel of a big-time stadium. Foreman Field exuded history but was a quaint facility that appeared more worthy of a Football Championship Subdivision program.
West side of S.B. Ballard Stadium as it appeared last week.
This will be the fifth season for ODU in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and the Monarchs will finally play in an FBS stadium.
Seating will increase from 20,118 to 22,480. "While it won't be the biggest stadiums in FBS," athletic director Wood Selig said, "it will be among the finest."
There are two levels of seating on both sides. They are much closer to the field, just 6 feet away at the corners of the stadium. And they are positioned downward at an angle, which means fans will have a much better view of the field.
Unlike Foreman Field, the stadium is designed so that crowd noise will reverberate rather than dissipate.
"The fans are going to be right on top of us," coach Bobby Wilder said. "Most teams aren't accustomed to the kind of atmosphere we're going to have here. It's going to intimidate visiting teams."
Construction on the new east side as it appeared last week.
The amenities will also improve dramatically. There will be seven full-service concessions stands offering a variety of fare, and vendors will be selling food and drinks on both levels of both sides.
There will be 15,923 new seats on the east and west sides and all will have back support, including 6,170 chairback seats.
The restrooms are being updated, with 232 toilets, including 149 for women.
And there were four major updates announced by ODU officials last week. The scoreboard will be replaced by a video board and there will be ribbon scoreboards on the west and east sides and the south end zone suites. The video board will be larger than the old scoreboard, but in reality, it will be far larger. The instant replay board won't be surrounded by advertisements -- the entire face will replay videos in digital HD formart.
If you're a basketball fan you how the scoreboard will look -- it will be similar to the scoreboard at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
A final rendering of how the stadium will look when ODU opens against Norfolk State on Aug. 31.
When we finished our tour, Stephen Ballard served the coaches and team a catered lunch underneath the Atlantic Bay Football Complex. I watched as many players took time to look up from the barbecue sandwiches and gaze wistfully at the stadium.
"We can't wait to play our first game," Haynes said.
“The fans were loud last season. But this stadium will take it to a new level.
“We all really feel blessed.”
As should the ODU's long-suffering football fans, who have patiently waited 10 years for new stadium.
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu