With a groundbreaking ceremony for the Arena District site already planned for October 10, Columbus Crew SC has now revealed the design of the stadium that will be built there.
New renderings and detailed plans were presented to the Downtown Commission this morning, showing a design that has changed significantly since the initial stadium announcement late last year.
“We’re excited about how the project has evolved,” said Gerardo Prado of HNTB, the architectural firm leading the project. “One of the challenges of a project like this is, how do you articulate the stadium façade and break it up…we tried to establish a dynamic rhythm (that) evokes speed and modernism.”
The new design calls for a completely covered seating area, with a reflective, perforated metal screen material extending down the outside of the building.
Prado called the canopy roof one of the “critical elements,” describing it as “authentic and important to soccer fans..it’s designed to provide coverage, yes, but also to control noise and direct it toward the pitch.”
The supporters section in the new stadium – the new Nordecke – will feature two platforms on the northern end of the stadium that will hold 3,400 fans, standing room only.
Other elements called out in the presentation include an outdoor beer garden, a public plaza in the southeast corner and views from certain vantage points inside the stadium of Downtown to the east.
The commission had very few criticisms of the proposal, and voted unanimously to approve the design. The only condition placed on the approval was that the team will have to come back to a future meeting for approval of the final lighting and signage plan for the site.
“I just think it’s an incredible rebuilding of an entire quadrant of the city,” said commissioner Bob Loversidge, referring to not just this site, but to Huntington Park to the east and the greater Arena District beyond.
Dave Jenkins, COO of Haslam Sports Group – the owner of Crew SC, along with the Edwards family of Columbus – said that the “plan is to activate this (site) year round, to have some good public spaces that draw people to the area.”
He also said work on the mixed-use development that is planned for the area immediately to the west of the stadium is ongoing.
“We have a lot more work to do,” Jenkins said. “Our mindset is to be really respective of the district but also to create something new.”
For more information, visit crewstadium.com.
