Stadium Design Scores a Touchdown
Photo courtesy of NFL.com
Stadium Design Scores a Touchdown
by Sweiskloss
February 6, 2025
by Sweiskloss
February 6, 2025
Photo courtesy of Caesars Superdome
With a diameter of 680 feet, the Superdome is the largest fixed dome structure in the world. The renovation preserved the building’s iconic exterior which now features anodized bronze exterior panels with a fade-proof finish and more than 26,000 LED lights. Green fans will be pleased to know that when illuminating in a single color, it only draws the electricity equivalent to one small home, according to their website.
Photo courtesy of Architect Magazine
Atlanta’s stadium is an architectural landmark and a prominent feature in the city’s skyline. Its signature element is its retractable roof “derived from the shape of a falcon’s wing, a reference to the Atlanta Falcon’s NFL team” (architectmagazine.com). It features eight triangular panels that open and close like a camera aperture. DesignReview.com called it “a civil engineering masterpiece.”
Photo courtesy of State Farm Stadium
A retractable roof and playing field offer a seamless transition for various events at Arizona’s State Farm stadium. The football turf is a “single tray of natural grass, spanning 234 feet wide and 403 feet long, moves effortlessly on 546 steel wheels along 13 tracks,” allowing it to glide in and out of the stadium in 70 minutes, according to their website.
It isn’t only Dallas Cowboy fans that like AT&T Stadium. Art lovers appreciate owners’ Gene and Jerry Jones’ works of art on display throughout the structure. Other notable features include retractable glass end zone doors that provide views and access directly into the end zone areas, two 300-foot-tall arches that span the length of the stadium dome, NFL’s largest jumbotron, and a retractable roof that can open and close in just 12 minutes, according to TheSportingNews.com.
HKS designed US Bank Stadium to reflect Minneapolis’ natural environment and history, “drawing inspiration from the ice formation on nearby St. Anthony’s Falls as well as Scandinavian design such as Viking longboats.” When it was built in 2016, it boasted the first ETFE translucent roof made from lightweight and transparent materials, which provides natural light and reduces energy consumption. The asymmetrical design is not only striking but it can also shed snow. “The roof can withstand the city’s brutal weather while flooding the interior with natural daylight, creating the feeling of being outdoors without subjecting players or fans to the elements” (HKSinc.com). Committed to sustainability, ”in 2018, the stadium hosted the first “Zero Waste” Super Bowl, recycling more than 90% of gameday waste” (hksinc.cm).
Photo courtesy of Novatr.com
Boasting a seating capacity of 82,500, no matter where they sit fans have unobstructed views of the action thanks to its innovative seating arrangement of four tiers. A huge 360-degree HD video display ensures spectators won’t miss a play. With on-site solar generators, LED and motion sensor lighting, waterless urinals and water filtration fountains, among other initiatives, MetLife Stadium is committed to sustainability. In 2021, MetLife became the first NFL Stadium to join the UN’s Sports for Climate Action Framework, which aims to achieve global greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.
With a sleek black design, Allegiant Stadium’s silhouette was inspired by the curves of a futuristic luxury vehicle, according to the design team. “The seven-acre ETFE roof is suspended by 100 stainless steel cables” (mccarthy.com). Other fun facts: it took 28,000 tons of steel to build, making it heavier than the Statue of Liberty; 72 motors power the sliding field tray and weigh 19 million pounds, which is nearly as heavy as the Eiffel Tower. Inclusion was a priority in the construction process with 23% of the work awarded to small businesses, 62% of the workforce being minority and female, and 70% of all firms involved were Nevada based (mccarthy.com).