From the outset, Cardinals President Bill Bidwill and son Michael embarked upon the task of building a new stadium for the team with a very clear focus. They were intent on constructing a bold and innovative venue that would set the industry standard for design excellence and provide the ultimate in fan comfort. The result of those efforts is the $450 million complex that opened in August of 2006 on a 165-acre site in Glendale, just west of Phoenix. In addition to hosting Cardinals games, it will be the site of Super Bowl XLII this February. It also hosts the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl annually and last January was the site of the first-ever Bowl Championship Series title game between Florida and Ohio State.
Architecture:
World-renowned architect Peter Eisenman, in partnership with HOK Sport and Hunt Construction Group, created a state-of-the-art design that has already become a prominent Arizona landmark. The stadium’s exterior skin takes its design cue from the barrel cactus and features alternating sections of shimmering metal panels intended to reflect the shifting desert light alongside magnificent vertical glass slots allowing fans a spectacular view of the horizon from any level of the interior.
Retractable Field:
University of Phoenix Stadium also features a unique rollout natural grass playing field, contained in a single tray weighing 17 million-pounds (234 feet wide, 403 feet long). The first completely retractable field in the United States, it is positioned inside the stadium on game days to offer the preferred natural-grass playing surface for football and outside the stadium for the remaining 350+ days of the year to receive sunlight and watering. The field tray is powered by electric motors mounted on steel wheels riding on tracks embedded in the concrete floor and will takes approximately 60 minutes to move completely. The flexibility of this unique design allows University of Phoenix Stadium to serve as a true multi-purpose venue featuring a 160,000 square-foot event floor for other prominent events such as NCAA Final Four basketball tournaments, trade and consumer shows, conventions, concerts, motor sports, and rodeos.
Retractable Roof:
Atop the stadium roof are two large retractable panels that open and close on an arc. The panels and much of the roof are made of a translucent fabric called Birdair that enables light to penetrate and gives the venue an open, airy feel. When closed it also allows for an air conditioned environment during the hot months but the roof can be opened during cooler times of the year to take advantage of Arizona’s patented sunshine. The roof takes about 10 minutes to open or close.
Other Features:
In addition to its high-design architecture and innovative design, the stadium also sets new standards for stadium comfort. Its layout provides for excellent site lines, comfortable seats, abundant restrooms and concession stands, spacious end-zone viewing decks, and wide concourses with an open design allowing for an unobstructed view of the field from both the lower and upper concourses. The stadium showcases two state-of-the-art videoboard/scoreboard displays prominently located in the end zones with excellent site lines from all seating areas. It is also aligned along a slight northwest to southeast axis to offer the maximum sun exposure for the grass field and maximum shade for stadium patrons. The stadium’s seating capacity is approximately 65,000 for Cardinals games and is expandable to over 73,000 for megaevents like the Super Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. University of Phoenix Stadium includes 88 luxury lofts – know elsewhere as “suites” – that are unlike any others in the sports industry. Featuring a bold, modern interior design, loft amenities include preferred parking, an exclusive entrance, private restrooms, multiple televisions, and in-loft catering. In addition to the lofts, a luxurious Club Level features wider seats, preferred parking, private entrances, and a climate controlled Club Lounge with multiple two-story spaces, comfortable lounge seating, plentiful TV monitors, upgraded food and beverage offerings and dedicated restrooms. On-site parking accommodates 14,000 cars as part of an innovative site plan designed to create a truly unique tailgating experience for fans. This 160-acre region, known as Sportsman’s Park, features over 20 acres of turf including the eight-acre public area known as the Great Lawn. In addition to the 14,000 on-site spaces, parking for an additional 7,500 vehicles is conveniently located on adjacent parcels and another 3,500 on other nearby parcels. University of Phoenix Stadium is owned by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority and operated by Global Spectrum.
Sportsman Park
The area that surrounds and encompasses University of Phoenix Stadium is known as Sportsman’s Park. 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.”
Sportsman’s Park features over 20 acres of turf, including an eight-acre public area called the Great Lawn, as well as 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.
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 projects 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.
mphasizing 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 architecture and currently teaches classes at Arizona State University.
“It was 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.”
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 stretches 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 illuminates the area during the evening hours. This region also includes seating areas and drinking fountains throughout. In addition to the uninterrupted expanse of grass, the Great Lawn includes areas for vendors and musicians.
Rave Reviews
In 2002 when the Cardinals took over design and construction control of the stadium project, the team set out to establish a new standard of design excellence and increased its investment in the project significantly. Since then, the venue has received worldwide acclaim for its distinctive architecture and cutting-edge design and was named by BusinessWeek as one of the 10 most impressive sports facilities in the world. The stadium was also named the best in the NFL by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and the field was named the best surface in the NFL in a Sporting News survey of NFL players.
Voices from across the globe have hailed the venue’s innovative design as a world-class achievement in architecture. Still others have admired the stadium’s state-of-the-art offerings such as the roll-out natural grass field, the retractable roof and the numerous other enhancements that will surely define the fan experience. University of Phoenix Stadium has received widespread publicity in places you’d least expect it: a cover story in The New York Times Arts & Leisure section, a separate piece in The Times Sunday Magazine, placement in Popular Mechanics, not to mention the international publicity its high design architecture has received in places like Germany, Denmark, Japan, and Brazil. From article to article, country to country, it is exceedingly clear that something truly special exists in the Valley of the Sun.
