The Historic Field House

t looked great in '28-the brand new, The mammoth Great Expectations Masons tuck-pointed the brick on red brick Field House smack (n what Campaign for Sooner Sports poured an­ all sides; the cast-stone accents were re­ would be the middle ofthe OU cam­ other $6 million into a comprehensive in­ turned to gleaming white. All the win­ I pus. Not much parking-but not terior makeover to reverse the years of in- dows were replaced with energy-efficient many cars. It was seen as a ven­ ue-men only-and the first game played In an era in which tear-downs are all-too-o&en there saw the Sooners trounce legendary the norm, it is reassuring to see those campus coach Phog Allen's 49- 19. Now those were the days! architectural treasures worth preserving being updated Waves of University history followed. and repurposed for future generations. All the Big 6 and Big 8 basketball greats, like Kansas' Wilt Chamberlain and OU's adequate maintenance. The old building, versions that still maintained the charac­ Alvan Adams played there. Epic now named for early-day basketball star ter ofthe building. New doors now grace matches with Oklahoma A&M coined T. Howard McCasland, was completely the main entry to the south lobby, as well the enduring phrase "bedlam." Classic rewired to permit the first-ever climate as those on the east and west sides, and meets took place there, and control-yes, that means air condition­ their gothic transoms were refinished. later women's . Pre-1972 and ing-new lighting and sound system, a Additional exterior lights were installed. the , the Field House struggled to contain crowds attracted to Commencement ceremonies, enroll­ ment "sectioning," rock icons like Jimi Hendrix, entertainers like Bill Cosby and politicians like Robert Kennedy. In an indoor pool tacked onto the north side, the Ducks Club performed women's syn­ chronized swimming, and Norman kids learned to swim. But over the decades, time took its in­ evitable toll. Many big names bypassed campus appearances when the Field House, with its poor acoustics and lim­ ited seating, was the best OU had to of­ fer. Coveted high school athletes were less than impressed. Coaches' pleas for some­ thing better were finally answered with Lloyd Noble Center, and there were calls Scaffolding surrounds the McCasland Field House, a landmark athletics facility long-ignored to tear down the Field House-but more until a decade-long interior and exterior renovation project put it back on the campus map. thoughtful minds prevailed. Wrestling, volleyball and gymnastics did not draw state-of-the-art scoreboard, chair-back Inside, the south lobby's terrazzo Hoar LNC-sized crowds and had to compete and retractable seating and refurbishing was replaced, and the second floor air with basketball and other special events of the historic 60-year-old wood Hoor. conditioning was extended in areas like for court time. The Field House, with all As students departed the campus in the the restrooms. its Sooner memories, was worth saving. spring, contractors, under the supervision In an era in which tear-downs are all­ This summer, exterior scaffolding sur­ of OU Architectural and Engineering too-often the norm, it is reassuring to rounding the building marked the con­ Services, moved in to match the exterior see those campus architectural treasures cluding phase of a several-year project to to the renovated interior. A new roof was worth preserving being updated and renovate the grand old lady. The pool hav­ installed. Existing horizontal skylights repurposed for future generations. With ing long since disappeared, a $2 million were removed, and the vertical glass pan­ careful attention of the athletes' needs project at the turn of the century added els extending the length of the building and the fans' comfort and enjoyment, the the Port Roberson Wrestling Center to were replaced with translucent ones that McCasland Field House has been trans­ the north side, along with a new volley­ admit light but not the glare plaguing the formed and is once again looking gteat. ball locker room. high-Hying volleyball players. -CjB

32 SOONER MAGAZINE