Northwestern Stadium

[TimEOBrien]

That's really cool. Can I ask what program you used to design this?

Sorry about answering for him, but it's Google Sketch-up. If I'm wrong Tim, you can yell profusely at me.

Photoshop. Start apologizing now, haha.

So where are the soccer/lacrosse fields going to go? I'm sorry but throwing everything out of your university for football, not to mention a school with no football history is dumb. It looks really good, but in all honesty you can't eliminate two sports in which they better at, for one in which they are in.

They would go at the old Ryan Field site, where (under my plan) a building, an indoor football facility and a full length football field could be turned into whatever the university needed. Oh, and there's Ryan Field, a 48,000 seat stadium where both sports facilities I am building over could easily be played full time.

[drdougfresh]

I dig it. My big thing about the stadium design is that it's a little "blah" to me. I understand that the program limitations may be a bit much if you just started using it, but rendering this out in more detail would make this much better. I also agree with the comment of the lake view being more prominent. I know you said 45,000 people. My (honest) question is, do they ever hit that many? I get that the program is always in contention to do big things (ultimately squandering their opportunities, but that's beside the point), so the potential for attendance growth is there. But, until that happens, I'm forced to believe that maybe you could make some modifications to the lake-side of the stadium to feature the landscape more prominently. Hell, they have the money, why not spend it on a super-nice stadium (which if built correctly and with the right technologies could handle soccer and lacrosse, too)?

EDIT: Saw you're using PS-- look at SketchUp, it's really good for this kind of thing, and allows for effective shadowing and detail of the like. It's also free.

[TimEOBrien]

EDIT: Saw you're using PS-- look at SketchUp, it's really good for this kind of thing, and allows for effective shadowing and detail of the like. It's also free.

I did look at it, prior to doing this. I just didn't get it and I couldn't figure out how to start it because it was trying to make me pick a site to build a place and there wasn't a site big enough anywhere near Evanston.

[drdougfresh]

EDIT: Saw you're using PS-- look at SketchUp, it's really good for this kind of thing, and allows for effective shadowing and detail of the like. It's also free.

I did look at it, prior to doing this. I just didn't get it and I couldn't figure out how to start it because it was trying to make me pick a site to build a place and there wasn't a site big enough anywhere near Evanston.

You can just build it in open mode and superimpose the lake and such in the background? I've never had it make me choose a plot to build on. I just add all that crap afterwards.

[TimEOBrien]

EDIT: Saw you're using PS-- look at SketchUp, it's really good for this kind of thing, and allows for effective shadowing and detail of the like. It's also free.

I did look at it, prior to doing this. I just didn't get it and I couldn't figure out how to start it because it was trying to make me pick a site to build a place and there wasn't a site big enough anywhere near Evanston.

You can just build it in open mode and superimpose the lake and such in the background? I've never had it make me choose a plot to build on. I just add all that crap afterwards.

Ok, I'll have to take a look at it again.

[pmoehrin]

I'm just looking at the place again. The biggest problem I see with the design from the perspective of somebody been in college athletics is that you don't have an access road going to the locker rooms.

If I'm a visiting I want to spend as little time outside the locker room as possible. I want to be able to get right off the bus and walk right into the locker room. It shouldn't take me any more then 90 seconds to walk from the bus to the locker room and I don't see how you can get into the locker room without walking through the whole stadium. I also want to be able to get in and out of the stadium very quickly. Again spend as little time as possible dealing with an unfriendly crowd. I should not have to wait with the rest of the crowd trying to get out of the stadium. Just get in and go as much as possible.

Also if you need to move equipment in and out of that locker room, you don't want to have to move it that far and you move stuff in and out of a locker room all the time. Again you need quick access to vechicular transport. You cannot walk some of that stuff more then a few hundred feet.

I just don't want to make any adjustments to it that's fine. I get it that's its just a concept, but that's a very practical need that would have to be addressed that you haven't if this was a serious proposal. I love the idea though and think it would be awesome to have a lakefront stadium like that.

[TimEOBrien]

I'm just looking at the place again. The biggest problem I see with the design from the perspective of somebody been in college athletics is that you don't have an access road going to the locker rooms.

If I'm a visiting I want to spend as little time outside the locker room as possible. I want to be able to get right off the bus and walk right into the locker room. It shouldn't take me any more then 90 seconds to walk from the bus to the locker room and I don't see how you can get into the locker room without walking through the whole stadium. I also want to be able to get in and out of the stadium very quickly. Again spend as little time as possible dealing with an unfriendly crowd. I should not have to wait with the rest of the crowd trying to get out of the stadium. Just get in and go as much as possible.

Also if you need to move equipment in and out of that locker room, you don't want to have to move it that far and you move stuff in and out of a locker room all the time. Again you need quick access to vechicular transport. You cannot walk some of that stuff more then a few hundred feet.

I just don't want to make any adjustments to it that's fine. I get it that's its just a concept, but that's a very practical need that would have to be addressed that you haven't if this was a serious proposal. I love the idea though and think it would be awesome to have a lakefront stadium like that.

I actually thought about this when doing this.

my thoughts, and this is all hypothetical, was that the team buses could go to the corner of the parking lot behind the press box and do the walk from the buses to a special entrance that funnels right to the locker room. It' wouldn't take much more than 90 seconds. As for equipment, a tractor trailer could backup onto the sidewalk near the stadium. And also, the visitor locker room would be near the south endzone.

[pmoehrin]

I'm just looking at the place again. The biggest problem I see with the design from the perspective of somebody been in college athletics is that you don't have an access road going to the locker rooms.

If I'm a visiting I want to spend as little time outside the locker room as possible. I want to be able to get right off the bus and walk right into the locker room. It shouldn't take me any more then 90 seconds to walk from the bus to the locker room and I don't see how you can get into the locker room without walking through the whole stadium. I also want to be able to get in and out of the stadium very quickly. Again spend as little time as possible dealing with an unfriendly crowd. I should not have to wait with the rest of the crowd trying to get out of the stadium. Just get in and go as much as possible.

Also if you need to move equipment in and out of that locker room, you don't want to have to move it that far and you move stuff in and out of a locker room all the time. Again you need quick access to vechicular transport. You cannot walk some of that stuff more then a few hundred feet.

I just don't want to make any adjustments to it that's fine. I get it that's its just a concept, but that's a very practical need that would have to be addressed that you haven't if this was a serious proposal. I love the idea though and think it would be awesome to have a lakefront stadium like that.

I actually thought about this when doing this.

my thoughts, and this is all hypothetical, was that the team buses could go to the corner of the parking lot behind the press box and do the walk from the buses to a special entrance that funnels right to the locker room. It' wouldn't take much more than 90 seconds. As for equipment, a tractor trailer could backup onto the sidewalk near the stadium. And also, the visitor locker room would be near the south endzone.

I'm just looking at that north side locker room and that's going to be a pain in the ass to get to in general. You just got no room down there and not alot of options as to getting there either. I would make that area more access friendly. If you need the move the stadium further south then so be it, but that area has to be easy access. If I'm a coach, a player or a member of the press, and want to park my car there on a non-game day I should be able to.

[Patchez]

Tim, you inspired me to give this a try. While I just "moved" NU stadium, my concentration was on placement within the campus with some lake landfill involved.

[pmoehrin]

Tim, you inspired me to give this a try. While I just "moved" NU stadium, my concentration was on placement within the campus with some lake landfill involved.

Access wise that's alot better, although it would be alot more expensive to build with landfill. I think its a nicer stadium, but I would hate to see the price tag on it with all the landscape improvements.

[TimEOBrien]

Tim, you inspired me to give this a try. While I just "moved" NU stadium, my concentration was on placement within the campus with some lake landfill involved.

First off, lakefill around this area wouldn't be the first time.

Second, The 'Cats would probably like their locker room back, haha.

Third, very nice work.

[NatsFan2004]

How would playing on the waterfront impact games? I mean, knowing how Chicago winters are...wouldn't fan comfort be made worse by the wind coming off the lake? (Not to mention kickoffs, field goals, etc.)

I really like your concept, BTW.

[The_Admiral]

College football wraps up before the really nasty stuff starts, but the wind would still be a bitch. This is why the call for the Cubs to move from like one mile inland to right on the shore is one of the dumbest ideas to gain a semblance of currency.

Personally, I think a football stadium is a waste of a perfectly good lakefront. It would probably be relatively bad architecture. All a college football stadium has to do is put a lot of people around a football field. It doesn't have to look particularly nice, and most of them do not. Even in the NFL, Soldier Field is a big, ugly, inadequate blight on a lakefront otherwise consisting of museums and wonderful public space.

Northwestern football at present has a sufficient niche, and will never be more than what it is because Chicago does not have an all-consuming passion for football. People just like the Bears, or more accurately, the idea of the Bears. Your concept has nice execution, but I'd never want to see them do it.

[pianoknight]

JMO, but Tim was presenting a concept and asking for C&C, coming on and just saying NW isn't deserving of lakefront property is neither constructive, or critiquing the concept. It's just being a dick.

+1.

This is a great concept for Northwestern and a stadium by the water is always cool (see: Washington, Tennessee). I'll disagree about Northwestern athletics, but this isn't the forum for that.

Also, I would like to see if you can put together a Penn State concept? Maybe close to a playground or daycare?

[TimEOBrien]

Ok, so I did a more accurate/better laid out aerial view:

You can now walk around the entire stadium, there is a loading and unloading dock/buss parking area the NW corner, "Walker Park" has been reduced in size a bit and the two athletic facility buildings have been moved to the south portion of the land in question.

As for questions on the wind, "The Windy City" nickname has nothing to do with actual wind. It gets pretty windy off the lake at times, but on average, we're not even close to being the windiest city in the nation. Hell, Boston beats us out regularly. The nickname comes from the Boastfulness of our politicians and representatives when we were trying to acquire the 1893 worlds' fair.

And also, the land in question is referred to as the "lakefill" and because of the contracts for Coach Pat Fitzgerald and Athletic Director Jim Phillips, a new stadium and workout facility will almost certainly be built by 2020 and the lakefill is one of the best places to do that. You can read more about that here.

[TimEOBrien]

Updated interior view:

[The Impaler]

Just my preference, but I would prefer seeing more parkland around the stadium instead of just a bunch of asphalt parking. I understand you are trying to address a need for parking as well but part of what makes campus stadiums great IMO is feeling like it's part of campus. To me that means lots of park areas and trees/grass. That's one thing I love about going to games in Lincoln (and BTW, went to the NU vs. NU game this year and sat beside a Northwestern fan that was very nice).

[MattD1972]

The new interior view solves the issue that I had - People sitting in the SW end zone near the tower weren't going to be able to see anything. The seats near the tower on the West side are still hard-pressed to see the opposite corners of the end zones.

Not living in Chicagoland, is the talk of a new stadium serious? I just can't see them building something like this. The Dyche-to-Ryan renovations aren't that old, and it's going to be awkward to go back to Mr. Ryan and ask for an even more gigantic sum of money to build anew.

[TimEOBrien]

The new interior view solves the issue that I had - People sitting in the SW end zone near the tower weren't going to be able to see anything. The seats near the tower on the West side are still hard-pressed to see the opposite corners of the end zones.

Not living in Chicagoland, is the talk of a new stadium serious? I just can't see them building something like this. The Dyche-to-Ryan renovations aren't that old, and it's going to be awkward to go back to Mr. Ryan and ask for an even more gigantic sum of money to build anew.

The discussion is very real, as you can read here. Both Coach Fitz and AD Phillips have language in their contracts for new facilities and a new stadium by 2020.

Ryan field, even with the updates, is still a very old, outdated stadium. There are no 'seats' only benches, not many restrooms, the structure is ancient, the location is 1.5 miles from campus...

The need for an on campus stadium isn't desperate, but it would be a huge improvement.

Oh, and mister Ryan wants to keep Coach Fitz happy. Especially since Fitz turned down $3mil a year at Michigan to stay at NU for $1.3 a year. And NU has an endowment in the Billions with a B that would help fund the stadium.

[TimEOBrien]

UPDATE:

So I created an estimated 50,000 seat version 2.0 stadium on Sketchup.

You can see a video here.

Chicago will be visible from the concourses and north and west second levels.

There is a tunnel on the East side that will be where the visiting team enters their locker room and will have open access to the lake (though it will be roped off during games) just like the current south tunnel at Ryan Field. This way, Northwestern can bring back the tradition of laking the posts (tearing down the field goal posts after big victories and throwing them in Lake Michigan, though these posts will be removable).

The north tunnel is the home tunnel that has a balcony above the player entrance on the main concourse for fans to see the players and watch the game.

The press and private boxes are two stories.

The walls around the field are 8 feet tall and are very close to the field in the south endzone (10ft, as close as is permitted). Ideally, just like many campus buildings, the interior walls will be covered with ivy (as will some of the exterior, naturally).

Parkland to the NW has been expanded. The south parking lot has been expanded and the new athletic facilities are located due south.