(10-29-2017 06:42 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote: (10-29-2017 06:34 AM)texowl2 Wrote: (10-28-2017 10:51 PM)bobreinhold1 Wrote: (10-28-2017 09:51 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote: Bob I usually respect the heck out of your insights but where did you get those numbers? I'm not aware of the breakdown but it sure doesn't look like the second deck is anywhere close to being twice as large as the bottom deck. In fact, I'd guess the lower deck has slightly more seats.
Google Construction Rice Stadium 1950. On page 2 find Rice University: An Architectural Tour
I watched them build the stadium and that's always what they said about the capacity. Of course that hasn't mattered for years.
If i recall, the two upper decks have 15k each with the lower at 40. With both endzones out and the concrete non-seats in the lower, i can see how there might be only 17k in the lower bowl, which i think has less rows than the upper. And the wings of the upper go all the way to the tarped endzones. So with all that any estimates of actual attendance?
Bob's figures are the same ones I had always heard quoted. The difference in HRS vs the Cotton Bowl was that the Cotton Bowl upper decks held 12500 each and the lower bowl 45,000. Both stadiums were listed as 70,000. The bleachers on the concourse at each end of the stadium (before the Owl Club was built) held 1000 each to get to the max 72,000.
Luckily, Ticketmaster has a seat map for the lower bowls, and I have a little time to count.
East Stands (8,768 total seats)
3 sections with 42 rows of 28 seats, and 4 rows of 20 seats in the chairbacks (1,256)
2 sections with 42 rows of 28 seats, 2 rows of 24 seats, and 2 rows of 16 seats (1,256)
2 sections (on the end, angled) of 1,238 seats
1 additional row on concourse of 12 seats
West Stands (8,193 total seats)
5 sections of 32 rows of 28 seats, and 12 rows of 20 seats (1,136)
1 section (northern most), with 32 rows angling out, then 10 rows of 20 and 2 rows of 6 (1,009)
1 section (southern most), with 32 rows angling out, then 12 rows of 20 (1,036)
a bunch of different sized upper reserved (468)
Total lower bowl capacity is 16,961, per ticket seats offered.