Let’s Redesign Notre Dame Stadium: Amenities

As the season gets closer we also draw closer to finishing our design of Notre Dame Stadium. With that in mind we’re getting into more detail and beginning to see things come together. This week we’re looking at the amenities around Notre Dame Stadium and you all had some thoughts about that.

Overall everybody seems to be satisfied with the current state of the stadium, with just over 50% of you rating the current state of the stadium amenities 7/10 or higher. Where things got really interesting though were in the written responses. Some common themes came up, with most of them looking for some variation of:

• Gathering space on the concourse (both outdoor and someplace warm indoors)
• A museum/hall of fame/some other space for history
• Bars or lounges
• More concessions and bathrooms

Let’s start by the new main entrance to the stadium that we created last week. As you remember, we pulled the entrance out away from the tunnel a bit more to allow for better circulation around the main tunnel. Now that we have that extra space we can use some of it by flanking the main entrance with a hall of fame/museum on one side and a large team store on the other. By flanking the main entrance it allows both to be entered from inside the stadium on game days while also being open to the public from the exterior at all other times.

In the same mold, many of you asked for more concessions throughout the stadium. You may remember part of the diagram below from looking at circulation last week but there was a lot of space left over and unused. We can fill that with additional concessions on all three levels to allow for greater variety as well increased capacity to alleviate overcrowding. We can also use some of that additional space to fit in extra bathrooms and by keeping everything to the outside of the stadium we’ve maintained the open concourse view of the field all the way around.

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If we move up to the second level we’ve already created an excellent opportunity for an open outdoor space along the concourse. By extending the entrance to the stadium further out north and increasing the angle of the student section seating we’ve created a large area for gathering, standing room, and tables for eating with a view of the field. On the other side of the concourse area, above the new stadium entrance is space for a fan zone with games for kids.

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Now that we have an outdoor gathering area we need something indoor. For that we can go to the opposite side of the stadium and up a level. The large video board, which we’ve brought over from Campus Crossroads, sits slightly above the second level of seating. This provides a great location to enclose for a bar/lounge with windows overlooking the field. Inside will provide food and drinks options, a variety of seating, televisions playing the Notre Dame game as well as others around the country, and most importantly a place to escape the cold.

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To finish off our amenities we’re also bringing over the luxury suites on the east side of the stadium that were added with Campus Crossroads. These suites provide indoor and outdoor seating, of course at higher price point tickets. It also provides a great view of campus beyond the stadium and an area that can be used for large gatherings aside from football weekends. While most people will never get to experience a game from these seats they do provide a great deal of value to the stadium.

Now that we’ve got all the major components of the stadium in place we’re going to move more onto design. Next week will be more pictures and less words as we look at the exterior design of the stadium. After that we’ll bring everything together into our final design.