AggieJohn
07-14-2005, 01:29 AM
Associated Press
Jul. 9, 2005 12:00 AM
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Hayden Fry's legacy lives on. The visiting locker room at Iowa's Kinnick Stadium will continue to keep opponents in the pink.
If anything, the pink color scheme will be even stronger after workers finish refurbishing the locker room, part of an $87 million renovation of the 75-year-old stadium.
The visitor's dressing room became a part of Hawkeyes lore when Fry, Iowa's coach from 1979-98, had it painted pink, saying it was a psychological ploy to mellow the opponents.
Fry ended up winning more games than any other Iowa coach, though how much the pink walls had to do with that success is anybody's guess. Still, the locker room gained such notoriety that there was no question what color scheme would be used when the area was remodeled.
"The critical thing was could we do it and make it look appropriate?" said Jane Meyer, Iowa's senior associate athletic director. "We think it's appropriate. We hope our visiting teams enjoy it as much as we have in planning it."
The biggest decision was which shade of pink to use.
"We had two choices of pink color schemes and we went with the more subdued pink," Meyer said. "Our architects had an absolute fun time trying to make sure that we were actually going to follow through with it."
The light pink walls are done. The room also will have pink shower surfaces, a carpet with pink aspects and porcelain for the toilets and sinks in a shade of pink called "dusty rose." Those last items are still to be installed.
Workers also are making progress in other areas of the stadium. The home locker room - it's painted in the school colors of black and gold - and the media interview rooms have drywall and at least one layer of paint.
Most of the work is being done at the south end, where the stands are being redone and a new scoreboard is going in. More restrooms and concession stands are being installed throughout the stadium.
The concrete work for the stands is finished and workers will begin putting in seats on Monday. The video screen for the scoreboard is in place and all the brickwork will be finished in two weeks.
"We're very thrilled with how everything is going," Meyer said. "We're ahead of schedule on most everything. Now it's just trying to get everything done by the first week of August so we can start doing things that we need to prepare for the first game."
Iowa opens the season Sept. 3 vs. Ball State, so everything has to be ready by then.
Next year, workers will refurbish the press box, including the indoor and outdoor club sections, and build a plaza entrance on the south side.
Meyer said that although she's pleased with the progress, there's still plenty of work to be done.
"It's not until we are ready to open the gates on football Saturday that I'm going to feel comfortable," she said.
Jul. 9, 2005 12:00 AM
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Hayden Fry's legacy lives on. The visiting locker room at Iowa's Kinnick Stadium will continue to keep opponents in the pink.
If anything, the pink color scheme will be even stronger after workers finish refurbishing the locker room, part of an $87 million renovation of the 75-year-old stadium.
The visitor's dressing room became a part of Hawkeyes lore when Fry, Iowa's coach from 1979-98, had it painted pink, saying it was a psychological ploy to mellow the opponents.
Fry ended up winning more games than any other Iowa coach, though how much the pink walls had to do with that success is anybody's guess. Still, the locker room gained such notoriety that there was no question what color scheme would be used when the area was remodeled.
"The critical thing was could we do it and make it look appropriate?" said Jane Meyer, Iowa's senior associate athletic director. "We think it's appropriate. We hope our visiting teams enjoy it as much as we have in planning it."
The biggest decision was which shade of pink to use.
"We had two choices of pink color schemes and we went with the more subdued pink," Meyer said. "Our architects had an absolute fun time trying to make sure that we were actually going to follow through with it."
The light pink walls are done. The room also will have pink shower surfaces, a carpet with pink aspects and porcelain for the toilets and sinks in a shade of pink called "dusty rose." Those last items are still to be installed.
Workers also are making progress in other areas of the stadium. The home locker room - it's painted in the school colors of black and gold - and the media interview rooms have drywall and at least one layer of paint.
Most of the work is being done at the south end, where the stands are being redone and a new scoreboard is going in. More restrooms and concession stands are being installed throughout the stadium.
The concrete work for the stands is finished and workers will begin putting in seats on Monday. The video screen for the scoreboard is in place and all the brickwork will be finished in two weeks.
"We're very thrilled with how everything is going," Meyer said. "We're ahead of schedule on most everything. Now it's just trying to get everything done by the first week of August so we can start doing things that we need to prepare for the first game."
Iowa opens the season Sept. 3 vs. Ball State, so everything has to be ready by then.
Next year, workers will refurbish the press box, including the indoor and outdoor club sections, and build a plaza entrance on the south side.
Meyer said that although she's pleased with the progress, there's still plenty of work to be done.
"It's not until we are ready to open the gates on football Saturday that I'm going to feel comfortable," she said.