Boone Pickens Stadium at Oklahoma State University is known for roaring crowds, a massive video board, and the tightest sidelines in college football.

Completing $55 million in improvements to the home of the Cowboys also came with some tight deadlines for Olsson and our project partners. You might even say it was like a two-minute drill for engineers, architects, and builders.

The project involved replacement of bench seating in the main bowl on the north and south sides of the stadium. In addition, significant upgrades were made to the stadium concourses, which included safety improvements for emergency generators, new lighting, electrical service, pavement, and more.

Olsson delivered mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering services as a member of the project team led by architect Populous and general contractor Flintco. The project was phased over two off-seasons; each hard deadline arrived before the first home kickoff in 2023 and 2024.

“We really did have a tight schedule to get all of this completed,” said Salman Khan, an Olsson project engineer who designed lighting solutions for the concourses. “There was a lot of retrofitting to make the existing lighting control system work with new LED lighting.”

Two challenges emerged with the concourse lighting. First, the light fixtures needed to hang high enough to not interfere with fans moving from the concourse to the field. Secondly, the lighting needed to provide the right intensity and illumination to allow the eyes to more easily adjust when moving from the darker concourse to the naturally lit stadium and back again.

"It's all part of improving the fan experience." 

We also were tasked with lighting the newly paved areas of the concourse (formerly surfaced with gravel). In consultation with the architect and contractor, Salman determined pendant lighting fixtures were the best option for the various applications.

Another significant aspect of the project involved the design of fire protection rooms for emergency generators. The generators provide backup power to not only the football stadium, but also nearby Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Carter Johnson, a senior engineer at Olsson who served as our project manager, said the new generator rooms are rated to contain fire for at least two hours, as required under code. Our design also incorporated louvers to allow adequate ventilation for the generators.

We also designed stormwater drainage for both the upgraded stadium seating areas and the concourse.

“It’s one of the most highly visible, well-recognized projects that I’ve worked on,” Carter said. “I know fans don’t think about generator rooms, or stormwater drainage, or lighting in the concourse, but it’s all part of improving the fan experience.”

Working on the project carried extra significance for Salman. He earned his degree in electrical engineering from OSU, graduating in 2015.

“Working on this project just feels amazing,” he said. “Helping the community, helping the college, and helping the fans enjoy a better game day experience. Overall, it’s amazing.”