Wow, I cannot believe it's now less than two weeks until kickoff. I think back to when I was walking up and around Memorial Stadium for exercise (it's exactly 43 minutes of walking to my seat!) in June and saw how much they had to complete in less than three months. It's been a great couple of months seeing the weekly progress they have made and having quick chats with some of the construction workers. Speaking of the construction workers, a month or so ago I wrote to Sandy saying that we certainly should bring them and their families to memorial for one of the first games and I am really happy to read that they will be there to be thanked in person by Cal Fans at the second game. They are there working hard at five or even six pm on Saturdays and on Sundays. As you can see in the pics, everything they have done looks fantastic and we all cannot wait to "kick the tires" ourselves and see our Cal Marching Band come out of the North Tunnel for pre-game and then our Cal Bears football team come running out onto the field of OUR DOMICILE, aka BEAR TERRITORY! With that, here are the pics from this Saturday!

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium20120818/24841329_3S3ZvW

And for easy reference, the galleries I've posted since my first on June 9 if you want to see how much has been done in just over two months (and as some areas have been completed, I haven't always included them in following galleries such as from The Campanile, etc.):

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/Cal-MemorialStadium-2012-06-09/23464199_82m84P

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/Cal-Memorial-Stadium-06-16-12/23607908_km9FHX

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium2012-07-14/24172026_dfvdmJ

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium20120721/24305641_TtPXzx

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium2012-07-28/24456764_hGWGBq

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium2012-08-04/24568441_rmm9rC

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium20120811/24704066_VNtCB7

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium20120812/24723260_HJVvw5

:gobears:

Great pics, the inside of the stadium looks fantastic. With only 2 weeks left, I am getting a little nervous about the state of all the stuff outside the stadium, primarily the north and east side. Honestly, I have no idea how long it takes for them to pour the concrete and do whatever needs to be done, so I'm probably overreacting.

Wow!! Beautiful photos! Thanks for posting them. Looks like it's ready for some football.

I think that will all be done in two weeks. Concrete work goes pretty fast. I'm more worried about the north minitron, since they've had to re-scaffold it in the past few days.

Where was this taken???

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium20120818/24841329_3S3ZvW#!i=2033328930&k=M4jHxRV

Where is the bottom of these steps? How do you get there?

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium20120812/24723260_HJVvw5#!i=2021864379&k=nRDRpTL

Thanks so much for all the photos you've taken!

Golden One;841925565 said:

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I'm more worried about the north minitron, since they've had to re-scaffold it in the past few days.

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Maybe I jinxed it when I said the video board looked broken in one of the other threads...

pingpong2;841925583 said:

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Maybe I jinxed it when I said the video board looked broken in one of the other threads...

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Not to worry.....if it's still broken on Sept.1st, I remember my Semaphore from my Eagle Scout days....

Calfans;841925576 said:

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Where was this taken???

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium20120818/24841329_3S3ZvW#!i=2033328930&k=M4jHxRV

Where is the bottom of these steps? How do you get there?

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/MemorialStadium20120812/24723260_HJVvw5#!i=2021864379&k=nRDRpTL

Thanks so much for all the photos you've taken!

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Hey Calfans, the first photo with the Concourse sign I believe is on the Northside tunnel facing Maxwell, adjacent to the Grand Staircase

Here is a different angle:

Great shots. The press box shadow covers a large area at that time of the afternoon (about 3:30 according to the picture info).

BellowingBerkeleyBear--
From one BBB to another, sincere thanks for the ongoing "public service" you've provided in recent months on the stadium progress with these great photos. Guys like you, Moraga, and FiatSlug (whom I'm convinced is some sort of world expert on all things Memorial!) have helped whet the appetite for the big day on Sept 1st. Thank you!

For the first photo you reference I think that socaliganbear's assumption is not far off from where the Concourse photo was taken. Actually, I think that BBB would probably say that he took the photo with a telephoto lens while standing on the sidewalk adjacent to, or on the hillside just downhill from, Rim Way.

The opening into the Main Concourse is what we're looking at, and you can see the script Cal straddling midfield in the background above the "C O N C O U R S E" sign. This is, therefore, not the North Tunnel area, but above it in elevation and east of the tunnel itself at the large landing/plaza area at Concourse level in the vicinity of Sections WW & X.

In the case of the second photo, the bottom of the steps you see are the Plaza area that is also the roof of the SAHPC. You can access the Plaza area most conveniently from Gates 2, 3, 4, and 5. It's a little frustrating for me not to have Gameday Maps available as a reference. I can visualize it in my head, but it's much harder to explain it without the visual aid of a map. Once the Gameday Maps are available, then Gates 2, 3, 4, and 5 will take on meaning. It might mean something if I tell you that Gate 1 will be closest to the North Tunnel. Gate 2 will be to the right of the Grand Staircase. Gate 3 will be the northernmost entrance of the SAHPC. Gate 4 will be the next SAHPC entrance south of that. Gate 5 will be at the top of the staircase closest to I-House, at Plaza level.

But as I said, maps will make these concepts much more meaningful.

Yes, the first shot CalFans asked about was taken from the dirt hillside between Rim Way road and the Stadium through the trees with 12x optical zoom. The pics MoragaBear posted here are fantastic to show the classy signage Cal has added all around the stadium. The other pic CalFans asked about:

http://caltravel.smugmug.com/Sports/...4379&k=nRDRpTL

is a stairway not visible as far as I know when you are walking around the stadium. As FiatSlug mentioned, they go up to the roof of the southern most section of Simpson Center. Cal really seems to have done a fantastic job in terms of taking a challenging terrain and making it much more fan-friendly with how the SAHPC provides so many useful ways to enter Memorial and so many areas of flat plazas. I thinks these stairs are around the gates shown in the few pics I'm posting from Sunday.

MoragaBear;841925637 said:

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Nice pics. Here are some more from today.

Note some of the finishing touches, like the brass bear and Cal Hall of Fame lettering:







The main south gates are largely installed. Tons of room for entry. They're large, sturdy swinging gates but you can't really tell that from the photo. You can also see the railing installed in the south stairs in this pic and closer up in the next one:







And last, a typical sunset from the Berkeley hills-

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Great photos. Thanks for all the hard work. The walls of Memorial are so shiny and white it's crazy.

Here's a map from my season tickets. Sorry it's blurry.

I still can't tell how to get to the Concourse level from the middle of the plaza.

I see you can get there going up the Northside steps to the landing. And Southside street level is on the level of the Concourse.

Using the stairs in the photo I mentioned will take you up there.

What about the entrances on either side of the HOF?

If you're looking for stairways inside the stadium that will take you from Plaza level to Concourse level, I think you will be disappointed: I don't think they exist.

There may be elevators close to Gate 4 (which is approximately midfield) and near the Hall of Fame Room, but I know of no other internal pathway that will take you up a level EXCEPT to walk through the Plaza Level to the seats and walk up steps to concourse level.

FiatSlug;841925981 said:

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If you're looking for stairways inside the stadium that will take you from Plaza level to Concourse level, I think you will be disappointed: I don't think they exist.

There may be elevators close to Gate 4 (which is approximately midfield) and near the Hall of Fame Room, but I know of no other internal pathway that will take you up a level EXCEPT to walk through the Plaza Level to the seats and walk up steps to concourse level.

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There are at least two stairways that take you from the Plaza to the third level concourse. They are located on the northwest curve, about at the corner of the end zone on that side of the bowl.

And there are multiple elevators.

That's it, I want to live in CMS.

DrDanger;841925993 said:

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There are at least two stairways that take you from the Plaza to the third level concourse. They are located on the northwest curve, about at the corner of the end zone on that side of the bowl.

And there are multiple elevators.

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Thanks for the information: good to know about the stairways.

In all of my looks at EIR materials (and there have been many), I've never seen any stairways represented on floor plans. I've seen representations of stairways on cross-sections, but nowhere else. Now, if I had been able to look at actual construction drawings...

I had heard that there were multiple elevators. Truthfully, though, I wasn't certain of their location except for a set near midfield. I suppose there are elevators in the four column supports for the Press Box. Anywhere else?

OneTopOneChickenApple;841925995 said:

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That's it, I want to live in CMS.

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I think Dr Danger does. I'm going to keep my eyes open on 9/1 for signs of a Murphy bed in the main concourse.

Shots 3, 4 and 7 depicting CMS from Tightwad are exceptional. Good enough to be wallpaper on my computer. It has to stir the hearts of high school recruits to see these photos and dream of starring on that field and before that crowd.

....most of the remaining work left is sweeping up and putting up signs. I'll give it one more go around. Weather calls for "a full day of sunshine" so will see if the morning offers a chance for some shots from around the east side. I've also wondered whether Wurster or Simon Halls offer any vantage points from above as they finish up the west side plaza. Don't know if either are open, especially on the weekend, but will give them a try.

:gobears: