UH Football Stadium’s New Showcase Party Deck to Be a Big 12 Game Changer — AD Chris Pezman Envisions an Astros-Like Environment

If you build it, the serious stadium perks will come.

With the University of Houston having finally officially joined the Big 12, how much the new $140 million football operations building is going to also transform TDECU Stadium is becoming clearer. The design of the new football-only building that will house the entire program is essentially complete — with the final renderings already starting to be released.

“This is it,” UH athletic director Chris Pezman tells PaperCity. “This is where the rubber meets the road.”

The build of the new $140 million football operations headquarters will allow the university to reach into TDECU Stadium, bringing about some dramatic changes, including a new covered premium seating party deck. “That party deck concept that we’re working on is going to be pretty cool,” Pezman says.

The $140 million plan that’s moving forward with Board of Regents approval will also mean a new larger video board that stretches sideline to sideline, more suites and a new club lounge in the stadium. A $90 million plan for the new football building that was also considered would not have brought as many major improvements. Pezman is hopeful that this bolder and more expensive plan will also allow the entire upper concourse of TDECU Stadium to eventually be connected.

“Right now we’re trying to work a way into this thing that we may have a chance to connect those sides so that we have a whole second level concourse that we’ve haven’t had a chance to do,” he says.

That would create a bridge where fans are able to stand and watch the game while sipping on their favorite beverage.

These are the kind of special fan experiences and environments Houston’s athletic director and his team are dying to create for University of Houston fans as the university gets into its new Big 12 life. While the new football operations headquarters itself will mark a crucial step forward for the program which will enter its fifth season under coach Dana Holgorsen this fall, it’s the stadium improvements that will more likely get fans revved up.

As Pezman and I talk about everything that is coming in the large conference room just across the hall from his office, the athletic director’s excitement is palpable. He leans forward in a cushiony chair, calls out to ask for figures from athletic department staffers several times. It’s a beautiful sunny day and the facade of Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park, UH’s baseball stadium, is visible outside of the conference room’s windows.

Construction on the new football-only center will begin just hours after UH’s last home game of this upcoming season — a November 18th matchup with Oklahoma State. And Pezman is already picturing the stadium setting it will help create.

“Again, I keep coming back to the Astros outfield (seating) during the playoffs,” Pezman tells PaperCity. “You have people with a drink at the railing and it brings them into the action. That’s what I want to be able to replicate at TDECU. Right now, it’s a kick ass stadium. But I want to create some character in it.

“And people create the most character. Putting that video board up there and that party deck brings us a chance to bring everybody into the bowl. You think about a night game, playing well and that place rocking. . . That will be a fun place to be.”

Pezman also tells PaperCity that there is an extreme emphasis being placed on game presentation and what can be done better on that end.

“Absolutely, game presentation is something we’ve been focused on a lot,” the AD says. “It’s funny. It’s the same staff that does (basketball) at Fertitta (Center) and everybody raves about how awesome it is. It comes down to butts in seats and energy in the building. And that’s what we’ve got to. . . that’s what we’ve focused on.

“We’ve got to get butts in seats and really create that level of excitement. It starts with the pregame in tailgating. Getting people into the building and how you interact once you’re in the game. Making sure they’re engaged and having fun.”

With UH already have broken its TDECU Stadium season ticket record with more than 25,000 sold for this first Big 12 football season, there certainly will be more butts in the seats consistently than there have been in recent memory.

“It’s just exciting that we are back,” University of Houston president Renu Khator says. “We have opportunity, now again, to show who we are and play at the national stage. And get to the Big 12. And not just to play, but to win as I say.”

It is a new grander stage for UH — with the seating to match.

Many of the University of Houston’s most engaged fans are particularly interested in premium seating. Ten new suits (16 seats per suite) and two smaller party decks are already well under construction at TDECU Stadium that will be open this upcoming season. All those suites quickly sold out. The new showcase party deck that Chris Pezman is pumped up about will bring more premium seating — and the football operations headquarters’ construction will allow for 750 to 800 new suite and club seats in addition to that — when everything is done in 2025.

This focus on creating special seating will cause TDECU Stadium to lose about 250 to 300 off its current 40,000 overall seating capacity. But there are ways to get around that for potential sellout-plus-type scenarios.

“The great thing about party decks is you can jam more standing room in,” Pezman tells PaperCity. “So when we have bigger nights, we can figure out ways of growing the building.”

Having to grow the stadium would be a win-win for the University of Houston. It would mean the Big 12 excitement is lasting — and building on itself.

“Again, I keep coming back to the Astros outfield (seating) during the playoffs. You have people with a drink at the railing and it brings them into the action. That’s what I want to be able to replicate at TDECU. Right now, it’s a kick ass stadium. But I want to create some character in it.” — UH athletic director Chris Pezman

UH’s Dramatic New Football Operations Center

As for the $140 million football operations center itself, the plans are just as bold — and striking. The building will be fronted by a 30-foot-tall glass wall that leads into a lobby dominated by a dramatic Cougar red glass staircase that is definitely designed to leave an impression.

Assistant athletics director for football operations Ryan Dorchester played a key role in making this showcase lobby happen, convincing Pezman that it could be done. It’s the kind of an entrance that recruits will notice.

“As you can see the lobby is going to be pretty cool,” Pezman says.

It is set to be a split lobby with the coaches’ offices to the left and the players’ areas to the right when you walk in. Another unique feature of the University of Houston’s new football headquarters will be the fact its 20,000-square-foot weight room is on the second floor. That sprawling weight room will lead right into UH’s existing indoor practice facility.

“What we’ve been trying to find is a way to add a little more character to the facility and to the stadium,” Pezman notes. “So that grand staircase you see is going to be (made out of) the red glass you’ve seen around the stadium.”

In many ways, this new football-only epicenter will transform the lives of University of Houston football players, creating a different experience. A big-time Big 12 worthy experience.

“What you really get is a really cool setup for them,” Pezman tells PaperCity. “They show up, one stop — just like basketball has one stop. One shop. Everything all in one place.”

For Chris Pezman and the entire University of Houston athletics department staff, the granular details are becoming more and more important. Including where the RVs are going to park on campus. Yes, the Third Ward is just two months away from experiencing a very different type of tailgating.

“When I say the phones are ringing, they’re ringing,” Pezman says. “They’re saying, ‘How do I do this? How do I do that?’ We have to be able to solve that. That’s what’s fun about this. Overnight parking for RVs. . . We’ve never really had to mess with that. But now you come in from Lubbock or Waco or Fort Worth, you’ve got to solve that.

“Talking to law enforcement so we have spots where they’re setup to do that. You think about it, at college campuses that’s a thing. And that’s what we’re getting ready to have here. And we have to make sure we lean into it. Because if we ignore it, it won’t ever manifest itself.”

After all, making dreams come to life is what this Big 12 move is all about in so many ways. The University of Houston having a football stadium with some serious upgrades, a showcase party deck and crowds worthy of a postseason game at Minute Maid Park certainly qualify.

They’re building it. Certain that more and more fans will come.

This is the latest in a series of stories on the University of Houston athletic department, the future of sports at the school and the historic transition to the Big 12. For more of Chris Baldwin’s extensive, detailed and unique insider coverage of UH sports — stories you cannot read anywhere else — bookmark this page. Follow Baldwin on Twitter here.