(09-19-2013 10:23 AM)bitcruncher Wrote:  IMO Lambeau Field is the premier NFL stadium. It's an antique, but absolutely beautiful on game day, especially now that it's been updated to modern standards...

It's old school, like Notre Dame. Maybe it's just me, but a symmetrical oval stadium has too many end zone seats (as a percentage of the whole) for my liking.

(09-19-2013 09:20 AM)adcorbett Wrote:  I like Seattle's Centurylink Field simply because it was specifically designed to be loud

http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/...darn-loud/

Quote:While the vocal cords of Seahawks fans surely deserve credit for piercing ears, so do the designers of CenturyLink Field. Even though it’s a mostly open-air stadium, the building traps noise. While CenturyLink Field isn’t domed, two huge canopies — one on the east side of the stadium, the other on the west side — cover 70% of the seats. This design has two benefits. One, it protects fans from Seattle’s famous rain. And two, it pumps up the volume.

. . .

Over a decade ago, Seahawks owner Paul Allen told Jon Niemuth, the architect of CenturyLink Field, to model his team’s new home after Husky Stadium, home of the University of Washington. Allen wanted that crazed, college feel. So at CenturyLink field, the seats are relatively close to the field. In the north end zone, the design team created rows of aluminum bleachers. “When fans stomp on them,” Niemuth says, “things get really loud.”

Niemuth, however, did not anticipate the sound effects of the curved canopies. He calls this result a “happy accident.”

(09-19-2013 11:51 AM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-19-2013 09:20 AM)adcorbett Wrote:  I like Seattle's Centurylink Field simply because it was specifically designed to be loud

http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/...darn-loud/

Quote:While the vocal cords of Seahawks fans surely deserve credit for piercing ears, so do the designers of CenturyLink Field. Even though it’s a mostly open-air stadium, the building traps noise. While CenturyLink Field isn’t domed, two huge canopies — one on the east side of the stadium, the other on the west side — cover 70% of the seats. This design has two benefits. One, it protects fans from Seattle’s famous rain. And two, it pumps up the volume.

. . .

Over a decade ago, Seahawks owner Paul Allen told Jon Niemuth, the architect of CenturyLink Field, to model his team’s new home after Husky Stadium, home of the University of Washington. Allen wanted that crazed, college feel. So at CenturyLink field, the seats are relatively close to the field. In the north end zone, the design team created rows of aluminum bleachers. “When fans stomp on them,” Niemuth says, “things get really loud.”

Niemuth, however, did not anticipate the sound effects of the curved canopies. He calls this result a “happy accident.”

The design sort of reminded me of Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, where ND played Navy last year.

(09-19-2013 10:53 AM)CougarRed Wrote:  All of those stadiums (and many large stadiums) have one thing in common:

The first row of seats is a long way from the outer boundary of the buffer zone.

They are beautiful. But personally, I give them demerits for being too far from the field.

Well with Alabama's stadium you are right, but in Baltimore's and Seattle's stadiums, the seats are as close to the field as you can be, with still giving the teams' enough space to operate. It's actually the older stadiums that have this problem moreso than newer ones.

(09-19-2013 10:30 AM)oliveandblue Wrote:  I really like it when a stadium doesn't look hideous from the street. While we all see things from a blimp's point of view, we sometimes never consider how this stadium is perceived from eye level.

That's one of the things I like about Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium. They are both designed to fit in with the Warehouse that was already there:












Then again I did work there for several years, so again I am totally biased.

I live in Maryland right now and I once worked in Baltimore during my internship days. Those two stadiums are wonderful additions to the city. I personally think that Camden Yards fits in a little bit better than M&T Bank Stadium.

By nature it will since the stadium isn't as tall and the entire lower level is underground. Remember the street level is equal to the top of the outfield deck, as you walk down to get to your seats. M&T is partially underground too, but it is 12 stories tall. Thus it will stick out more.

(09-19-2013 10:57 AM)CougarRed Wrote:  

(09-19-2013 10:23 AM)bitcruncher Wrote:  IMO Lambeau Field is the premier NFL stadium. It's an antique, but absolutely beautiful on game day, especially now that it's been updated to modern standards...

It's old school, like Notre Dame. Maybe it's just me, but a symmetrical oval stadium has too many end zone seats (as a percentage of the whole) for my liking.

And almost all the fans in those end zones get to celebrate with the players after a score. The Lambeau Leap is a big part of Packer lore, and only those in the end zone get to participate in that...

(09-19-2013 01:20 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  

(09-19-2013 10:57 AM)CougarRed Wrote:  

(09-19-2013 10:23 AM)bitcruncher Wrote:  IMO Lambeau Field is the premier NFL stadium. It's an antique, but absolutely beautiful on game day, especially now that it's been updated to modern standards...

It's old school, like Notre Dame. Maybe it's just me, but a symmetrical oval stadium has too many end zone seats (as a percentage of the whole) for my liking.

And almost all the fans in those end zones get to celebrate with the players after a score. The Lambeau Leap is a big part of Packer lore, and only those in the end zone get to participate in that...

Are they leaping 70 rows up? I'm all for an enclosed bowl to trap noise. I have nothing against end zone seats which are relatively close to the field.

Packer fans don't care how far they jump. They sell out the stadium every year, and the waiting list for tickets is about 50 years long...

(09-19-2013 11:23 AM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  

I also like Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. After all Howard Schellenberger wanted PJCS to be similar to it, but with chair back seats instead of bench seating.



I also like Nippert Stadium to bad it cannot be expanded to
65,000.



I think these are three great football Stadiums.

(09-19-2013 02:17 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  I also like Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. After all Howard Schellenberger wanted PJCS to be similar to it, but with chair back seats instead of bench seating.

I like Mountaineer field too, but you posted a picture of Scott Stadium at Virginia (which is more like PJS than WVa is).

BTW - what's the story behind the unusual end zone at West Virginia?

Uva and Cincy have two very cool stadiums. Awesome back ground in both. I love the scenery in UVA's stadium and I love how Nippert is literally in the middle of academic campus.

Any other smaller stadiums that make the cut?

On the flipside I think Alabama's stadium looks like crap. Michigan and Tennessee are my favorites for 100k+. I hate the chopped endzone look like Bama and PSU. @ CougarRed the big house looks like it has a pretty minimal buffer zone from the action to the stands, but does not have the stacked seating to bring more fans closer to the field.

Yes, it is funny thing I did copy the WVU one, strange ,I do need to fix it.

(09-19-2013 02:30 PM)ncbeta Wrote:  Uva and Cincy have two very cool stadiums. Awesome back ground in both. I love the scenery in UVA's stadium and I love how Nippert is literally in the middle of academic campus.

It will be interesting to see how Yulman Stadium (Tulane) turns out. The stadium - like Nippert - will be built directly into the city fabric of Uptown New Orleans.

Any model pictures?

(09-19-2013 02:30 PM)ncbeta Wrote:  Uva and Cincy have two very cool stadiums. Awesome back ground in both. I love the scenery in UVA's stadium and I love how Nippert is literally in the middle of academic campus.

Great view from last week's game here... this was taken from the DirecTV blimp as it was in town for the Bengals' Monday Night home game.

(09-19-2013 02:36 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  Any model pictures?

That will be extremely nice for Tulane. How close will it be for students? It's hard to tell what's around it, are those residential houses on one side and campus on the other? Who lives in them?

Ford Field ought to get some awards.

By putting the club seats and skyboxes on one side:



And the upper deck on the other side:



They have created a 70,000 seat stadium with a large number of premium seats while avoiding the seemingly universal problem of other new NFL stadiums of having an incredibly high, incredibly steep upper deck. Anyone planning to build a new stadium or retrofit an old one would do well to incorporate these principles in their design.