UNI-Dome Renovation

[FOTY]

Attendance was sparse in sections but oversell better than I expected. Between the game time/new regime/holiday weekend/low expectations it was pretty good. The students showed up which really surprised our group (see prior excuses).

There were a large number of changes in pre/post game which will take time to become a thing. In addition to the changes with the band, the team did a walk through some of the tailgate areas before game. They also walked around the field thanking fans in the front row (post game) and sang the fight song with the band. I was with some very impatient children who were used to being on the field with 5 minutes of the final play - that is no longer the case. Not complaining, just noting some changes…

I’ll eat crow on the reno. For years I was on the side of not repainting the seats saying it wasn’t worth the cost and we needed to invest in so many other areas. I was wrong. The purple seats give a great look. The West side seating is like a new stadium. Very well put together. The bar or pew seats were disappointing as the purple in those sections don’t pop like I thought it would. One surprise, I thought all the seats were new, it appears the benches were simply the old seats with the backs removed (nice little saving$ there). The glass partitions are a modern and clean look. I was surprised to see so many new walkways, way more concrete work than I anticipated; you can now walk around the dome on the level of the concourse within the seats, there’s increased and better viewing for handicapped, there is an entry area into the premium seating. Oddly enough, the speakers sounded better where I sat, but that may be due to the mic configuration of our new PA announcer.

There’s more to come with painting, which is necessary. There’s are a lot of blank purple walls which is better than before but look like something is missing. I sincerely hope there are plans for banners or something to reflect our history. While it’s been a while and somewhat depressing seeing recent results, we cannot just pretend our history did not occur.

Talking to several around us, reseating did not go as smoothly as expected. Some are making calls Monday to adjust their season seats.

Overall, some great improvements long overdue.

[BCPanther]

I have to ask.

What was the problem people were having with their seats? Location? Style?

['70 Grad]

On the North scoreboard, we were listed second. Isn't the home team usually listed first in football & basketball (and last in baseball) or am I wrong again?
The regular time clock at the bottom of the video board was not operational. The North board had some issues at the top occasionally.

Otherwise, the new seats were great, the horizontal aisles thru the handicapped areas were nice, and the general look was classy. Waiting to see what details show up next. I agree that I wish that the bleachers on the ends showed the purple better, but they are what they are.

No "alma Mater" Yea! No "traditional U N I chant" Yea! Team was on the sideline for the national anthem. Were they in the locker room in the past, or am I misremembering? (No preference.)

Farley-like clock management at the end of the first half. St. Thomas-like game the first half. Boy, they were small. But, we needed to win, and we did in convincing fashion - eventually wearing them down. It took a long while to be able to make holes up the middle. Looks like the +/- is still 3 wins. Our QB does throw a nice ball.

[FOTY]

I have to ask.

What was the problem people were having with their seats? Location? Style?

During the sale some were misinformed. For example, one family near us for the last decade had to switch to what they were told were cheaper tix. They were resat in the same section on the North side of the field for the same price as we paid. Another, after losing 3 of the seats they’ve had for 18 yrs due to Panther Points ended up with 3 of their old tix together in the neighboring seats and the 4th was 6 seats down the row (still don’t know how that happened).

I’m guess both are due to misunderstanding during the process more than they were accepting.

[Jonsoup]

I was told yesterday during the game the plan is they are keeping the walls where championships were posted were staying purple. The team will be on the field for national anthem playing.

[Jonsoup]

What is everyone thoughts on the helmet logo?

[pnthr53]

I’m for staying with same logo for all sports….i want a logo that when anyone sees it they know we are the northern Iowa panthers….like iowa with the tiger hawk

[UNI MadCat]

Largest crowd for an opener since 2019, announced at 9079 which is about 75% capacity in the new configuration. Sure didn't feel sparse in the building.

Students got moved to the end of the East side 3 years ago just relocated to the West this year which makes way more sense.

The band condensed their pregame and got rid of the alma mater which made the timing so much better.

Tons of positive buzz on Twitter. I would argue that the apathy is going away, the problem is it's only us old people that use message boards.

Sure. But I could say something about the kind of people that still use “Twitter”.

Glad to hear the other stuff.

[7YrsOfCollegeDownTheDrain]

i think you'll see multiple logos on the helmet this year with the 150th anniversary of the university.

will they put the conference title and playoff appearances back on the purple wall? i was assuming that with the amount of work those were still on the list to be completed.

[in_the_stands]

I thought the Panthers script was OK. I really like the candy apple purple helmets, they were great-looking on TV.

I saw we have new white road uniforms, are new purple uniforms on the way? I would not mind if we don't, we looked pretty good as is IMHO.

[pnthr53]

But to be honest…pick any logo you want as long as you win games

[FOTY]

I’m a fan of consistency - sticker to the flaming Panther head or change the brand. Everyone is doing the script these days, thus I’m not a fan. And the number/script was just weird to me.

Oh, and this comes from a guy who liked the NI inside of the U logo of 2001-2. So my opinion may not be worth much.

[BCPanther]

i think you'll see multiple logos on the helmet this year with the 150th anniversary of the university.

will they put the conference title and playoff appearances back on the purple wall? i was assuming that with the amount of work those were still on the list to be completed.

The plan is to use the Ever Loyal logo on the north end. The playoff years and conference titles are not coming back.

[Jonsoup]

i think you'll see multiple logos on the helmet this year with the 150th anniversary of the university.

will they put the conference title and playoff appearances back on the purple wall? i was assuming that with the amount of work those were still on the list to be completed.

I was told they are putting back on the wall

[BCPanther]

Sure. But I could say something about the kind of people that still use “Twitter”.

Glad to hear the other stuff.

Oddly enough, Twitter is what you make of it. If you don't go seeking the political garbage and stick to the feed with your follows, you get the things you want to see. Mine is 99% sports and Iowa history.

I guess I'm 'that kind of person.' Good to know.