Oklahoma Sooners athletic director Roger Denny tackles backlash over reduced capacity and rising costs, revealing why high-end seating is essential to fund the Sooners' surging roster expenses.
Roger Denny sat down with The Oklahoman and directly addressed the backlash from Oklahoma fans over the planned renovations to Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
The new Sooners athletic director, who inherited this project when he took the job in January 2026, made it clear that he is listening to the concerns but also explained the tough realities of modern college athletics.
“We're certainly reevaluating some things,” Denny told The Oklahoman. “But I would say, the idea of moving some seats, that's part of the business of athletics, not just college athletics.”
That’s the part a lot of fans don’t want to hear. The original plan calls for reducing capacity from 80,126 to around 73,126 by removing about 7,000 general admission seats to make room for more premium seating — 47 suites, 64 loge boxes, and roughly 4,000 new club seats.
The $450 million project is scheduled to start after the 2027 season and finish in time for 2029.
Denny was upfront about why these changes are happening.“Our expenses continue to increase dramatically year over year over year,” Denny said.
“We've got to pay for that somehow, and a big part of that is going to be the donors that support us. Our roster cost goes up somewhere around 40% every year. Well, our ticket costs are going to go up single-digit percent, low single-digit percent every year. Our donor impact is going to increase, but we've got to find spots where we can match revenue to those expenses.”
This is the reality of today’s game. NIL deals, transfer portal spending, coaching salaries, and facility upgrades are all skyrocketing. Denny knows fans don’t want to hear about increased costs, but he’s being honest that donor support through premium seating is a big piece of keeping up financially.
He also showed some empathy for longtime season ticket holders who might lose their current seats.“Folks are going to have some increased cost to maintain their current seat area,” Denny said.
“Do I wish everyone could have their seats forever? Yeah, absolutely. I wish that, but that's not realistic in this environment.”
“The goal for us is to find opportunities where if someone ultimately ends up having to move seats, they're still having an incredible experience in our stadium and a winning experience in our stadium,” Denny said.
“If we find ourselves in those circumstances where folks that have been incredibly loyal and gracious to us over the years, if notwithstanding that they've got to go to a different seat, it's still going to be a pretty good seat and great experience for them.”
That’s the balancing act. They want to keep longtime fans happy while also bringing in the revenue needed to stay competitive. Denny sounds like he’s trying to find a middle ground.
On the timeline, he said they’re still aiming to stay on track but are open to adjustments. “We're doing everything we can to maintain the construction timeline,” Denny said.
“But certainly if the scale of the project gets bigger, or as we start to think about other areas in the stadium that we can improve, we'll certainly start on something on the same timeline. But whether or not we finish on the same timeline, I'm not sure.”
Denny also talked about the bigger picture of making the gameday experience better than watching at home. “We're in this unique, odd world where our biggest partner, the TV networks, is also our biggest competitor,” Denny said.
“We have to compete with them day in and day out to provide a better experience. It needs to be a better experience for you to come watch a game at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium than it is for you to sit on your couch and watch it on TV.”
“This stadium renovation is a big part of it,” Denny said, “but so will whatever changes we make to the stadium next year, and the year after that, the year after that, and perhaps even some in the season. I haven't seen a game yet, so I can't tell you exactly what I think we need in there. But as I get in there and as the season starts, I'm probably going to see some stuff that I want to change, and we're going to evolve that stadium as frequently as we can to dial in that experience to be the best in the country.”
This is the challenge. Modern fans have so many options. If the in-stadium experience isn’t noticeably better than sitting on the couch with a big screen, more people will stay home. Premium seating helps pay the bills, but they have to make sure the overall atmosphere doesn’t suffer.
Many fans have believed for years that OU could support a 100,000-seat stadium on Saturdays. Denny seems to understand that dream, but the financial realities are pushing things in a different direction. The focus on suites and club seats matches what a lot of other power programs are doing.
Denny inherited this plan, and he’s now in the position of trying to balance fan sentiment with the cold hard numbers. It’s not an easy spot. He’s listening, he’s reevaluating some things, and he’s promising to keep the fan experience in mind.
Whether that’s enough to calm the concerns remains to be seen, but at least he’s addressing it head-on.
The renovation conversation is going to continue. Fans want to feel heard, and the athletic department has to find a way to make the numbers work without alienating the people who have supported the program for decades.
