Slightly OT: Cardinals Stadium Graphics Package

[TruColor]

Here's another thing the Cardinals are doing graphic-wise:

[DarthMan]

This looks sweet, but what does the "Sportsman's Park" mean on the columns? Have they picked a name already?

[TruColor]

This looks sweet, but what does the "Sportsman's Park" mean on the columns? Have they picked a name already?

Ah...I just got this ready to go, and you asked the question...

"Sportsman's Park" is the name of the landscaped area around the stadium. Here's the story:

Cardinals Reveal Site Plans for Sportsman's Park

As construction continues on the new Cardinals Stadium in the West Valley, the Arizona Cardinals Football Club recently released the site plan for Sportsman?s Park, the area which will surround and encompass the stadium.  The 160 acre region includes car parks, grass areas and other open space available to the public.

?We wanted to extend the fan experience and standard of design excellence from the stadium to the site and provide an unparalleled site environment to enhance the pre and post game experience for our fans,? offered Cardinals Vice President and General Counsel Michael Bidwill. ?We also needed to give this special place a name. We chose ?Sportsman?s Park? which connotes the significance of the football stadium and the unique park-like setting of the site.?

?We have been researching and listening to our fans for a long time,? continued Bidwill. ?We have conducted focus groups and been getting feedback on what the fans like and we think Sportsman?s Park is an area that everyone will be able to enjoy.?

The Cardinals teamed up with award winning landscape architect Michael Dollin of Urban Earth Design to create a design aimed to generate the ultimate fan experience.

Dollin?s resume includes over twenty years of experience on a wide range of built and published products including the Goldwater Memorial, the Salt River Project Headquarters, and Heritage Square Park Downtown Phoenix. He began his private practice in 1989 after a decade of work with leading architects and planning engineers primarily in Arizona, Texas, and the Middle East. Emphasizing integration of design and environment, his work consistently seeks to evaluate the quality of the constructed world. Additionally, Dollin has taught a variety of courses in urban design and landscape architect and currently teaches classes at Arizona State University.

?It?s an honor to work on this project,? said Dollin. ?It is really one of the highlights of my career and it is a fantastic project that I think the entire valley can be proud of.?

Sportsman?s Park, which will encompass over 20 acres of turf, will include an eight-acre public area called the Great Lawn, on-site car parks which will handle over 14,000 vehicles, and an abundance of trees and other landscape appointments native to the area.

"We set out as a goal to have a great tailgating site but what our designers have created is the best tailgating venue not only in the Valley but also the National Football League,? commented Bidwill. ?Nothing comes close. What we have done is unprecedented."

?It is a wonderful gesture by the Bidwill family to create a space for people to use not only during games but throughout the entire year,? added Dollin. ?The Bidwills are a shining example of taking privately owned space and making it available for the public to enjoy.?

Sportsman?s Park

Great Lawn

An eight-acre expanse of grass surrounded by sycamore trees, the Great Lawn extends west from 95th Avenue to the Loop 101. The lawn will stretch over 1,000 feet and is designed for use by fans while tailgating at games or to use during other activities outside the stadium.

Surrounding the Great Lawn is a 50-foot wide promenade. Adjoining the path are three rows of sycamore trees, and ample lighting which will illuminate the area during the evening hours. This region will also include seating areas and drinking fountains throughout.

"This is going to provide an absolutely phenomenal atmosphere for everyone that comes to Cardinals games," said head coach Dennis Green. "You won't find a better stadium in all of sports. Fans will want to come early, tailgate, enjoy the game and then probably stay a while after it's over too."

In addition to the uninterrupted expanse of grass, the Great Lawn will include areas for vendors and musicians.

Plant Varieties

The vegetation that will be planted throughout Sportsman Park was selected to incorporate the farming heritage of the West Valley. 1250 trees will be planted on the site before opening day.

?The land in the West Valley has great history,? said Bidwill. ?We took the agricultural design and activated it.?

To honor that heritage, several broad leaf shade trees were incorporated into the design. With their red berries, Red Pistache trees will provide color in the fall, while the Arizona Sycamore?s white bark will offer a contrast during the winter months. Both varieties are deciduous, allowing for sunlight during the winter and ample shade during the hot summer months.

Arizona Ash bears brilliant gold leaves during the fall and the Evergreen Pear, located primarily in the plaza area, will produce white flowers in January?timely color for college bowl games and Super Bowl XLII in 2008.

Additionally, the color red will be incorporated throughout, using the foliage of the Bradford Pear tree, the leaves and fruit of the Roger?s Red Grape vine, and an abundance of red Bougainvillea bushes which will outline the fence area.

?From day one we will have sizeable trees,? Bidwill said. ?We have taken a variety of plants that haven?t been traditionally used in the area. It is a great setting and framework for the stadium site.?

The new Cardinals Stadium will be open in time for the 2006 season. The world-class venue will not only feature a retractable roof but will also be the first in North America to feature a fully retractable grass playing surface.

In addition to hosting Cardinals games, the stadium will host the Fiesta Bowl annually as well as the BCS National Championship Game in January of 2007 and Super Bowl XLII in February of 2008. The stadium will have a seating capacity of 63,000 fans with the ability to expand to 73,000 for marquee events.

?This is just another step as we move towards the completion of the new Cardinals Stadium,? concluded Bidwill. ?We are excited about Sportsman?s Park and the opportunities it presents for fans and the general public. This is going to be an area everyone can enjoy on a year round basis, not just during football season.?

Here are some pics:

[TruColor]

The name "Sportsman's Park" is a homage to the former name of the old Busch Stadium (I) that was the initial home of the Cardinals when they moved to St. Louis in 1960.

As far as corporate naming-rights go, the latest rumor is that Toyota might get it...that would mean that Toyota would have two venues - including the Toyota Center in Houston. Not sure how true it is though.

[Gothamite]

I think the stadium exterior is fugly, but the interior signage looks great.

Let's not mince words here: the Cardinals new stadium is most definitely an object building. Now, a lot of urban planners and architects don't hold the words "object building" in high regard. Which is a shame, because here's an instance where it works. I don't think a more traditional design would have worked here, because there aren't any built forms to reference. Plus, if you compare our stadia to what's being designed in the rest of the world, I'd say we're at least 8-10 years behind. It's about time we caught up and integrated some more modern forms without totally abandoning traditional-styled stadium design.

The whole package (stadium design and graphic design) works so well, I hope this becomes the new standard-bearer of what our stadia should be in this country.

I don't mind object buildings. I love Allianz Arena, for one.

I just object to this object building. Fugly.

[Squeaks4]

My best friends family owns like 7 season tickets and if everything goes as planned I will going to opening day! I am so excited to see this stadium. I really think this is a great thing for the Cardinals as well as the state of Arizona itself. I was looking around at different facts about the stadium and the lastest update says that the stadium is about 70% complete and the crews are now working on finishing the roof and the field "tray". I also found a few more pictures of the stadium.

And here are some cool links from the Cards website.

Live webcam of stadium

Offical Site of AZ Cards

(On this page you can take a virtual tour of the stadium)

[TruColor]

I was looking around at different facts about the stadium and the lastest update says that the stadium is about 705 complete and the crews are now working on finishing the roof and the field "tray".

I think you're looking at outdated information. The roof has been completed, the field tray is just about there as well. In fact, they just had a ceremony commemorating the installation of the last metal "skin" panel on the exterior.

Almost all of the Red and Gray seats are in as well. Scoreboards are up, lighting and sound systems are in, A/C is going...I think that they're more like 85% of the way there.

Right now, the construction crews are putting in all of the parking areas...

[yh]

The name "Sportsman's Park" is a homage to the former name of the old Busch Stadium (I) that was the initial home of the Cardinals when they moved to St. Louis in 1960.

A surprising touch of class from a guy for whom the concept is generally foreign. I like that Bidwill is doing this.

[Roger Clemente]

Also - in case you hadn't heard - Cardinals Stadium was featured on a recent episode of Extreme Engineering on the Discovery Channel, (Extreme Engineering) and was also named as one the Top Ten Most Impressive Sports Structures in the world, according to Business Week:

Top Ten Most Impressive Sports Structures

It's the only U.S. facility, and only one of two in North America.

HOLY :censored:!!!! I've been here. I used to live not far from it! Half my cousins still play hockey there!

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[TruColor]

HOLY :censored:!!!! I've been here. I used to live not far from it! Half my cousins still play hockey there!

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

I thought of you when I saw a facility in Nova Scotia was on there...

[MrAsterisk]

Nice stadium, but one glaring error:

There aren't supposed to be apostrophes to denote decades. 1940s is preferred, with '40s being accepted and 1940'S being categorically DE-NIED.

And that concludes my grammatical rant of the day. Kudos to the guy who used "stadia" in his post. Even I'm not that good.

[TruColor]

Nice stadium, but one glaring error:

There aren't supposed to be apostrophes to denote decades. 1940s is preferred, with '40s being accepted and 1940'S being categorically DE-NIED.

And that concludes my grammatical rant of the day. Kudos to the guy who used "stadia" in his post. Even I'm not that good.

VERY nice catch.

I'm actually going to mention this to a guy I know in the Cardinals front office.

[ninersdd]

Interesting that they have a history section,they have very little success!

[JQK]

Interesting that they have a history section,they have very little success!

as little success they've had, they are still the oldest run american football franchise. (Est. 1899)

[slapshot]

Nice stadium, but one glaring error:

There aren't supposed to be apostrophes to denote decades. 1940s is preferred, with '40s being accepted and 1940'S being categorically DE-NIED.

And that concludes my grammatical rant of the day. Kudos to the guy who used "stadia" in his post. Even I'm not that good.

VERY nice catch.

I'm actually going to mention this to a guy I know in the Cardinals front office.

It's sad to say, but the flood of impropert usage of apostrophes has become so commonplace, that when you finally see a properly pluralized word, it looks weird without the apostrophe. What is wrong has become accepted, and the correct way is viewed as wrong.

/grammar rant over

[HowBoutThemFins]

I'm liking the interior, but GOOD GOD! What in the HELL is that devouring the stadium on the outside? A bear trap? Toilet paper? What the FAAAAAW!

[TruColor]

It's sad to say, but the flood of impropert usage of apostrophes has become so commonplace, that when you finally see a properly pluralized word, it looks weird without the apostrophe. What is wrong has become accepted, and the correct way is viewed as wrong.

/grammar rant over

I swear if I see another person misspell "lose" or "loser" as "loose" or "looser", I'm gonna freakin' kill someone.

[VitaminD]

I swear if I see another person misspell "lose" or "loser" as "loose" or "looser", I'm gonna freakin' kill someone.

You mean you're going to loose it?

(I know. But it just felt so right. I will now return to my duties as CCSLC Grammar Nazi, although I think tonight is OMMF's shift... )

[Joshawaggie]

It's sad to say, but the flood of impropert usage of apostrophes has become so commonplace, that when you finally see a properly pluralized word, it looks weird without the apostrophe. What is wrong has become accepted, and the correct way is viewed as wrong.

/grammar rant over

I swear if I see another person misspell "lose" or "loser" as "loose" or "looser", I'm gonna freakin' kill someone.

you guys and your grammar, quit being such looser's.

[TruColor]

Nice stadium, but one glaring error:

There aren't supposed to be apostrophes to denote decades. 1940s is preferred, with '40s being accepted and 1940'S being categorically DE-NIED.

And that concludes my grammatical rant of the day. Kudos to the guy who used "stadia" in his post. Even I'm not that good.

You will all be happy to know that I posted this quote on one of the Cardinals' message boards last night - one that I know that one of the Cardinals front office people frequent - and they made this correction this morning:

The Power of the Internet.