The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is one of the most well-known football stadiums in college football. With a total seating capacity of 82,112, the stadium ranks among the 15 largest on-campus facilities nationwide. Chamberlin's hard work on finding a permanent solution to fix the expansion joints and ultimately stopping the leaks, led to the honor of receiving two industry awards. Chamberlin was proud to receive an Oklahoma Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) Excellence in Construction Eagle Award and an Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Oklahoma Build Oklahoma Award.
For years, the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium has struggled with moisture intrusion specifically at expansion joint locations throughout the bowl. Multiple attempts to retrofit and repair these conditions have been made over the years. This evolved into an annual maintenance item for the university and created unnecessary repairs over the years.
Chamberlin was selected to find a permanent solution for the expansion joints and ultimately stop the leaks. Additionally, their scope for the stadium renovation included structural concrete repairs, crystalline waterproofing, epoxy injection, joint sealants, extending the concrete steps for widened aisles and adding intermediate steps to the east side of the stadium. Chamberlin used carbon fiber reinforcement (FRP) to repair and reinforce support beams under the stadium allowing them to withstand more force to increase the lifespan of the stadium. The west, east and north side of the stadium bowl had traffic coating removed and replaced and bentonite waterproofing was installed at the below grade walls where new concessions were built under the north endzone.
In 2002, Chamberlin had completed the original traffic coating for the stadium. While the typical lifespan of urethane traffic coating is 5-10 years, this material withstood 17 years of pedestrian traffic in the bowl. Because of the superior life span, Chamberlin suggested the original product be substituted for what was specified for this renovation project. Similarly, Chamberlin noted an area for improvement in the expansion joints. Chamberlin’s recommended joint allowed a higher range of movement, giving them the option to choose a custom color that would match the traffic coating and were custom designed and prefabricated for every tread and riser condition. This eliminated the need for tricky field splicing of the material and ultimately helped reduce the risk of joint failure and leaks. The owner did not pay more but received a better quality product that will be able to accommodate additional and unforeseen stresses for years to come.