Canzano: Opportunity knocks for Oregon State at USC

This rendering shows a renovated Reser Stadium at Oregon State University. The stadium's $153 million west side renovation project is expected to be completed by fall 2023.
  • 246 shares

Washington State athletic director Pat Chun told me once, “The competition of the living room is real.” He was talking about the challenge that universities face in trying to draw fans to college football stadiums.

I thought about that some this week.

Oregon State is creating a living-room feel to the premium seats planned for the new construction on the west side of Reser Stadium. I wrote a column about it last weekend. The Beavers have a virtual reality presentation they’ve been quietly presenting to potential donor whales. It’s elegant and exciting, and while officials wouldn’t say how much the seats will cost, industry insiders ballpark some of the best of it at $5,000 a seat per football season.

All of this dovetails together on Saturday in Los Angeles where Oregon State will try to do something it hasn’t done in 61 years. Winning at USC as a decided underdog wouldn’t just be a statement about the Beavers’ current football season, it would grease the wheels for those premium-seat commitments.

In 2003 when Oregon State AD Bob De Carolis launched the “Raising Reser” campaign, he did it by adding premium seating and expanding the capacity of the stadium by 8,000 additional seats. De Carolis was ambitious. His team worked creatively. But what they had was momentum and demand created by a Fiesta Bowl win from Dennis Erickson.

It’s Jonathan Smith’s turn.

He’s 2-1 this season. That’s encouraging. Last season, the Beavers beat the Ducks in something resembling a “signature win” for Smith. But snapping a 24-game road losing streak at USC would make what now-AD Scott Barnes and his team are trying to pull off more feasible.

Barnes was in the room last Saturday when I sat through the presentation. It was a bang-up job. But I turned to the AD at one point, and asked, “This is really happening, right?”

He shot back: “It’s happening.”

It’s a massive project. Barnes has hired and fired coaches over the years. He’s worked at several universities and in different geographic locations. He’s been the AD at places such as Eastern Washington, Utah State and Pitt. But Barnes hasn’t ever built something like what he’s currently taking on at OSU. He needs Smith’s assistance to make it sing.

De Carolis -- nicknamed “Builder Bob” -- must have wondered all those years ago if he might be creating too many premium seats in the rebuild of Reser Stadium. His staff did a nice job packaging it and marketing it. It was a success in the end. But if Erickson, and later coach Mike Riley, hadn’t created strong on-field success the entire project might have wilted. The Beavers averaged eight wins a season from 2000-2008, the sweet spot for raising, building and filling Reser Stadium.

That eight-win benchmark underscores the urgency of the current project. The way OSU is selectively marketing the new premium-seat opportunities tells me that the university wants to sell the new seats to fresh season-ticket holders and fans who are upgrading. They’d like to avoid a mass migration of existing VIP seat owners from the east side of the stadium to west and instead sell to new premium-seat customers.

It’s why OSU needs a few big moments or exciting football seasons in 2021 and 2022. The Pac-12 melted last weekend. Washington and Utah suddenly look vulnerable. WSU and Arizona are struggling. Cal looks terrible and USC fired its coach after Week 2. Amid this, I keep expanding my expectations for the Beavers.

Six wins and a bowl game?

Seven wins?

Eight?

We’ll adjust expectations again on Saturday at the Coliseum when OSU suits up for the fourth time this season. But the Beavers have a feel about them this season that I haven’t witnessed in Corvallis since Riley bolted in the middle of the night for Nebraska after the 2014 season. The Beavers believe, they’re experienced, talented and that has made me think OSU winning at USC on Saturday can happen.

Smith grew up in Southern California. He played high school football there, rooted for the Dodgers and attended USC games at the Coliseum as a kid. He was a die-hard ‘SC fan.

“Rodney Peete was my guy,” Smith told me this week, “and Keyshawn Johnson, even Todd Marinovich. I followed them closely. I even wore my towel long out my pants in high school like Keyshawn did.”

Smith beat Oregon last season. His team lost two other games (Utah and Washington) by six points each. Stanford edged OSU by a field goal. It was encouraging trajectory, for sure, but close losses won’t sell premium seats in this market. The Beavers need splashy wins and consistency.

Beat USC?

It’s out there for Smith on Saturday.

Also, it would unquestionably assist the athletic department effort to generate enthusiasm and gift giving for the $153 million renovation project they’ve signed on for. I asked Smith this week if there’s additional pressure on him given the scope of the stadium project.

“I get it on the pressure. This job is pressure,” Smith said. “We know we’ve got to win whether we’re building a stadium or not. It’s exciting. There’s momentum. I think there’s a belief in the things taking place. It’s going to be game-changing. I haven’t done the virtual tour.

“I don’t know how you got to see it before I saw it.”

Pretty simple.

Oregon State doesn’t need to sell Smith on buying a seat. He stands during games. It needs him to win big games, qualify for a bowl game, and keep making people feel like they need to be there to see it in person. He remembers the change in crowds he saw as a player from 1998-2001.

“Those crowds grew,” he said. “It was electric. It made a difference.”

---

Email: John@JohnCanzano.com

Subscribe to the John Canzano weekly email newsletter.

Tweet me: @JohnCanzanoBFT and find me on Facebook: BaldFacedTruth

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

X

Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information

If you opt out, we won’t sell or share your personal information to inform the ads you see. You may still see interest-based ads if your information is sold or shared by other companies or was sold or shared previously.