I think NU can, and will do better. Aim higher!
stadium--any news
- Thread starter Rodenthater
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I think NU can, and will do better. Aim higher!
Ahhh, the old hyoerbolic paraboloid school of design. First popularized in the US in the J.S. Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC, by Matthew Nowicki, who coincidentally was the deceased huband of one of my teachers, Sasha Nowicki, who was a very good designer in her own right and loved bold, straight forward geometry. If she did not like your work, she would literally rip it apart, something I would have loved to see her do with this not so formally respectful renovation of the Liberty Bowl. I do like that they kept the basic paraboloid design as a strong element.
At NU, we need neither type of Hyperbolic.
Oops, I realized that no one in school after 1970 has experienced a panty raid.
You had me going there for a second. If I hadn't caught muself, they would have found me on Grand Avenue in front of any apartment building that looked like a dorm.
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I am excited to see the renderings. I really hope they come up with a design similar to UAB (35k seats) where there is a concourse that goes around the entire stadium above the lower bowl seats that is accessible for all, has views everywhere to the field and can be the place for a traveling in-game party. Tired of sitting, take your beer and take a tour around the stadium while watching the game.
People who like/love football shouldn't be wandering around the stadium during games but sitting and cheering. Waltzing about seems like something that might fit in with the leisurely pace of baseball.
I still think we are talking too small. I am not saying I am right and of course everyone has their own opinion, but when even High Schools are building big stadiums, can't one of the best Universities?
I mean, this is a high school stadium in Texas
I still think we are talking too small. I am not saying I am right and of course everyone has their own opinion, but when even High Schools are building big stadiums, can't one of the best Universities?
I mean, this is a high school stadium in Texas
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Functionally, this high school stadium is probably fine, but architecturally it is AWFUL. They have managed NOT to integrate function into a design that is focused on football AND also supports one's desire not to feel abandoned in a desolate environment. We have deserts which we can escape to for that.People who like/love football shouldn't be wandering around the stadium during games but sitting and cheering. Waltzing about seems like something that might fit in with the leisurely pace of baseball.
I still think we are talking too small. I am not saying I am right and of course everyone has their own opinion, but when even High Schools are building big stadiums, can't one of the best Universities?
I mean, this is a high school stadium in Texas
The thing about these currently popular pedestrian concourses with food and other stuff, like bathrooms, is to allow you to continue pay attention to the game, while getting food, drink or having a pee break, not to indulge your restless inattentive nature, and so they are a good thing. They just need to be done right, like at Huntington Bank Stadium. Otherwise, that stadium is mediocre architecture at best (I'll explain later if asked), and I hope NU will do much better.
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Tired of sitting is especially true in Minnesota where half the football games are played in near freezing weather. Provide stadium seats and not aluminium benches and you solve part of that problem, which they intelligently did at Huntington Bank Stadium.
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Right. I still like the idea of facilitating flow throughout while catching the game from different visual perspectives. A lot of people are there for the social aspects and not just to watch the game. So, for example, I would encourage larger viewing areas at the end zones since maximizing seating isn't a goal. Lots of good ideas, however, and NU has certainly engaged a good design firm. I think that firm will be excited by the opportunity to create a jewel in an urban context. At the end of the day Mr. Ryan and Fitz will hold sway which is as it should be.
All the back and forth on spending money on the stadium vs NIL and some such. IMO Huntington Bank Stadium and all the other new facilities is the primary reason Minnesota has been recruiting so well. Fleck has been a positive but that stadium is impressive and demonstrates a commitment by the University.
What kind of fan is not in his seat? They make even less noise than us geriatrics in Section 127. You know, noise like, “Hey, sit down!”
Who is the design firm NU has engaged? Your thoughts on the endzone are good. I remember watching part of a game on the plaza in the end zone at Huntington Bank stadium and it was an interesting perspective, as long as you are not trapped there for the entire game, in a seat.
I remember one time sitting low in the east stands for a game at Ryan with my 10 year old, and there was a group of ex-football players (they were big) in front of us who could not sit still, and were constantly standing. I finally said something like "SIT THE F*** DOWN", which was not well received.
HNTB - https://venuesnow.com/sources-hntb-to-plan-rebuild-of-ryan-field/
Plus there was another NU story relative to community input on the other board confirming their selection. If I get a chance will look up.
I have forgotten the history of US based stadium architects. Very much KCMO based since the design of Arrowhead which was considered a terrific stadium. Popolous,HOK,HNTB - all incestuously linked over the years. I could be wrong here, but HNTB no longer falls in the "star" category but is very solid. You likely know the history better.
Architecture
HNTB's architecture practice is consistently ranked among the top design firms in Building Design+Construction's Giants 300 List. Our work continues to make a meaningful impact in cities and communities — from innovative airport terminal design,
HNTB website with sample projects including stadium and Big Ten work.
I believe him. MSU fans did the same to me once. I flipped them off behind my back and started a fan uproar that momentarily caused the coaching staff to wonder what happened.
People who like/love football shouldn't be wandering around the stadium during games but sitting and cheering. Waltzing about seems like something that might fit in with the leisurely pace of baseball.
I still think we are talking too small. I am not saying I am right and of course everyone has their own opinion, but when even High Schools are building big stadiums, can't one of the best Universities?
I mean, this is a high school stadium in Texas
Apparently, the stadium cost $60 million when it was built ten years ago, and has become a maintenance money pit since opening. https://www.athleticbusiness.com/fa...-spending-millions-to-fix-unsafe-60m-stadium9
Oh I believe him as well. Not surprised he told a group of former football players to sit down…at a football game (of all places).
Isn't there an unwritten rule for football fans where everyone stands in unison, and sits down again after the play is over? No? I must be thinking of some other sport. Probably tennis.
I have been to many, many, many football and baseball stadiums. Too many to count. It's a hobby of mine. I've been to the top-rated stadiums; I've been to the dumps. I think the worst place I've visited to watch any kind of game is Michigan Stadium. Yet it's the Big House. Fans are so jammed in that by halftime your shoulders hurt. Seating should be first, second, and third priority. I’d be happy if they just installed new seats.
The rest of the bells and whistles don't matter to me much. Seen ’em all. My father-in-law said it best, “Nothing is ever that great. After a week, your new car is just your car. After two months, your new house is just your house.“ I would add that after a year, your new stadium is just your stadium. Suddenly, someone builds something new and exciting, and the complaints start all over again.
The rest of the bells and whistles don't matter to me much. Seen ’em all. My father-in-law said it best, “Nothing is ever that great. After a week, your new car is just your car. After two months, your new house is just your house.“ I would add that after a year, your new stadium is just your stadium. Suddenly, someone builds something new and exciting, and the complaints start all over again.
I agree, true for most stadiums, but every once and awhile a stadium fits just like an old jacket, jeans and shoes. Perfect. The energy of the crowd, the noise, the views, the immediacy. Architecture can achieve that binding of soul, space, senses and experience that doesn't age badly over time but gets better. I truly believe NU has that opportunity here because the objective isn't size but experience.
Wrigley has that feeling for many. As simple as its ivy walls and old time scoreboard. Anticipating what will be unique about the new Ryan Field is what makes this experience exciting.
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I can give this a thumbs up, good advice.
I agree. But only most of the time and only in general. But not always. Deering Library is, at least to me, not just "a library". The place someone goes on their Honeymoon is not just a "vacation spot", etc.
The goal would be to build Deering Library and not the new (1970s new) NU library (does it even have a name?). To build the South Quad housing area and not another drab Foster-Walker Complex.
My point is, this is going to be a long term thing. I root for the Islanders hockey team being originally from Long Island and there are some things I really like about our brand new UBS Arena, and some things I dislike. The thing is as a fan I am happy for the good but going to be stuck with the bad for 40 years or so and I hope our new stadium has far more things to be happy about than disappointed in.
That said, I repeat, thumbs up, to your point. 98% of the time, a car or a building/house really does become average and normal to person remarkably fast.
Your point on Deering made me rethink my position. I would love if the stadium could add touches of collegiate Gothic. Northwestern to the max.
The way they expand seating at the Big (out)House is to paint the seat numbers closer together
Well said stream CAt. When my kids went to Michigan (my wife's entire family and spouses and kids went there) he indicated that the Big House had increased their seating capacity that year. I asked where the seats were built? No, not built he said but just numbered the seats closer together!. And I've "sat" in that stadium, got in (as a student) and a students ticket, and had to stand most of the game in that section because there were 150 % of the seats occupied ( 15 people where 10 should be). And UI sat there in the pouring rain when their field was carpet. By the end of the game(( and the continuing downpour) there were, maybe, 7000 people left. An experience. And there were no advertisements inside the stadia at all. However there was usually a circling airplane with a banner.
I don't know. NU football has such a special place in my heart and family history I doubt the new stadium could ever be just another stadium to us. My fandom began in 1977. And for many years it's energy was driven by the hope I would one day see the University really try to be successful in a first class way. The new stadium will be the culmination of that dream come true.
I'm also a car guy. So I totally get having a relationship with an inanimate object that has just the right shape, color, sound, performance and smell to it.
GOUNUII
I like a new car as much as the next guy, but what really turns my head, whiplash style, is a well-restored classic. I am hopeful that the stadium renovators keep that look. My heart skips a beat when I approach the old fortress on Central.
Eagle E-types may interest you. Hand made in England. They take a donor E-type body - restore it to a modern day version of the fabled classic - and then mate it to a modern day chassis and drive train. It’s all very Jaguar. Jeremy Clarkson called it the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.
GOUNUII
Well, they need to be better demonstrations then. Nobody knew what the hell they were protesting.
How do they start? Have you ever watched the Jaguar episodes on Mad Men? It's not the car you want if you're trying to off yourself by CO asphyxiation. Jaguar didn't seem to mind too much, though.
Phat, how old are you? It may not be the old fortress, it may be the old heart valve. long live the Cardiac Cats!
Car guy here also. Would be interested in talking about it sometime, maybe through PM.
I turned 60 in April. Also, as much as I like a classic, I prefer a bit of uniqueness. So, for instance, I appreciate an old 'Vette or Mustang as much as the next guy, but there is this mildly rusty, mid-60's Suburban-type car that is near my church and I am nuts about it. If I had any mechanical ability, I would buy it, restore it, and drive it back East when I retire.
As my mom used to say, unique cannot take a qualifier. It is either one of a kind or it isn’t. I know. I know. I'm a jerk.
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