An inside look at Doak Campbell Stadium's transformation

Five months from now, there will be football.

But right now, there is activity — everywhere. Even on a Saturday.

Construction crews are working around the clock inside Doak Campbell Stadium on renovations ahead of the start of football season, which begins on Aug. 30 against Alabama. It's surreal to see the photos and videos from inside Doak and contemplate the work that's been done but also the work ahead over the next 150 or so days.

The improvements will transform much of the gameday experience for FSU fans, specifically those on the west side but also those in the Champions Club (south end zone) and east sideline (mesh seats).

On the west side, FSU athletics and Seminole Boosters officials released updated sales that reflect four areas are sold out: suites, founder's experiences (suites and loges), Dunlap Champions Club (six experiences) and west side club.

What's available? The west-side chair-back seats are 40 percent sold out and are now available to current season ticket holders through the April 10 renewal deadline. They will then be made available to the public. Bleacher seats are 50 percent sold and are now on sale to current ticket holders and the public.

FSU is also reporting a renewal rate of 85 percent of season ticket holders from 2024 to the upcoming season. More than 27 percent upgraded their booster membership level to be in a better spot for renovation seating.

What's different? Bleacher width was quite small at 16 inches but now club seats are widened to 22 inches. Chairback seats are 20 inches wide. Tread depths, allowing for more legroom, have been extended from 27 inches to 33 or 34 inches depending on which type of seating option fans are selecting.

There are also more toilets and urinals for men on the west side as well as toilets on the west wide for women.

Concession points were also increased by 20 on the west side, including a second kitchen and expanding capabilities for grilling and frying in both kitchens.

The Osceola was among the local news outlets who took in a tour of Doak on Saturday morning. More photos and videos from the Osceola staff are on the Osceola Village.

— Bob Ferrante

Osceola publisher Jerry Kutz is an FSU football season-ticket holder an did a hard-hat tour in February. Below are his thoughts as well as a video from the media's tour inside Doak on Saturday morning.

“It’s going to be kick ass,” Mark Alexander of Tallahassee said after taking the hard hat tour of Doak Campbell’s new west side seating section. “We have six seats and I’m fired up.”

There were many “wow” moments at each stop of the tour, whether the width of the concourse, the grab and go concession stores, or the large bar and gathering place in the southwest corner of the endzone.

“Although it matches the renderings, seeing it in person gives you more of an idea of the scale and the layout. The hard hat tour makes it easier to visualize what it’s going to be like.”

Alexander, who owns Cloud Navigator – a cloud computing service -- and Epic Bikes is looking forward to being in the club seating section of the west sideline.

“I like that its going to have the refreshment like the Champions Club but I need to be in the sideline stands where people are partying, get excited with a lot of exuberance,” Alexander said. “That’s really the reason I like coming to games. Otherwise, I’d watch it on TV.”

Joshua Degraff, a post-doctorate professor in Tallahassee, was impressed with the size and layout of the concourses on the west side of the stadium, which will serve about 8,000 fewer seat holders with modern concession equipment.

“It is a lot more spacious so I can imagine it will be a lot less crowded,” Degraff said. “The flow is a lot better. The concession stands look like they will be more accessible and that grab and go store is modern. They are going toward a pro-style stadium.”

Ticket holders will be glad to know the number of bathroom fixtures per ticket holder has improved dramatically, especially for women.

The Dunlap Champions Club, completed in 2016, is undergoing several changes designed to improve the experience and encourage fans to sit in the outdoor seats.

The club has been segmented into two distinct floors. Ticket holders with seats on the sixth floor will find all their food and beverage needs provided on the sixth floor and will not have access to the fourth floor, nor will fourth floor patrons have access to the upper deck. This will prevent overcrowding any one section of the club and allow for more-manageable food and beverage operation.

Che and Brian Gonzalez, who chose seats in the Dunlap Champions Club, are looking forward to the bar-height seats and wider rows which replace the club seats on the upper deck of the club.

Thirteen rows of padded club seats were replaced by six wider rows of tables with significantly fewer mesh chair back seats.

“We think that’s going to be a great option,” Che said. “We can eat and drink while we watch the game, without having people walking in front of us or having to get up each time someone wants to go to the bathroom.”

The row widths are neatly 60 inches wide, so patrons heading to the restrooms can do so without disturbing the seated guests. With capacity reduced from 5,800 to 4,000 in the Champions Club, Brian expects the club to be less crowded.

"We enjoy the Champions Club because of the clean bathrooms, no lines in the bathrooms, and enjoy a personalized experience.”

Do they have one wish?

“We’re hoping they’ll bring back the pop-up bourbon bars,” they said. “We like our bourbon.”

Frank Allen, a professor at Florida State, was impressed with the openness of the west sideline project.

“I was very impressed,” Allen said. “It looked like quite an upgrade."

Allen was impressed but said he will stay in the Champions Club.

"I was really impressed with the west side but it was a little out of my price range," Allen said. "I’m moving from the sixth floor of the Champions Club to the fourth. I’m going to miss my cushy seats in the club but I understand the mesh seats are going to be quite nice too.”

There are significant changes on the fourth floor to create additional unique experiences and to encourage a higher percentage of fans to fill the outside seats.

The enhancements are along the back few rows of the club right outside the glass curtain wall of the fourth-floor club. Construction crews are integrating those two spaces to create and indoor outdoor experience that was offered exclusively to existing club seat holders.

Allen enjoyed the hard hat tour and is excited about the improvements he’s seen.

“It’s nice. I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I can’t wait to see the finished product.”

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