More Pictures of Michigan Stadium
At this time, the photos are at the bottom of the message thread.
The brickwork looks amazing.
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=451&f=2364&t=4383891&p=2
That combo of brick and glass looks straight up beautiful. If it was a woman it would be named Baberaham Lincoln. Makes the stadium look that much more beastly than it already did. Can't wait to see it in person on September 5th.
No sugar coat, bricklaying not just FANCY also PRACTICAL.
This shit still hasn't gotten old. I don't think it ever will.
+1
I'm excited to see the Stadium after the workers are done installing the archway windows of the top three concourses of the East structure (Oh my god, can you believe the East structure will have 4 flipping concourses?).
On this webcam (below; viewable only during the day, obviously), you can tell that the workers have "barred up" seven pairs of windows so far (3rd and 4th concourses per pair).
http://www.umaec.umich.edu/projects/Stadium/webcam7.html
My major problem with the renovation all along is that the bricking doesn't go around the entire stadium. The concept designs made it look like a relatively minor problem (http://www.umich.edu/stadium/project-description/regents/N-ElevOutBldgs…) but these images prove my initial fears... the new portions essentially look like two freestanding structures built on top of the stadium, nothing is done to incorporate them into the existing design. See here: http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq194/wcfl3/northeast.jpg
If they were to brick in the entire thing, it would look a lot less Soldier Field-y, but on the whole I LOVE the new look.
I actually agree with you. The incongruity between old and new, for me too, was and remains the biggest issue with the project. However, the project NEEDED to begin and be done. Moreover, our athletic department likely chose the best (the far best) option from a list of competing blueprints, all of which intending to asymmetrically build around a stadium that was never intended to be asymmetrically built around.
Aside from another renovation (of the endzones; the emptily rumored "upper decks"), the Big House will never look elliptical and architecturally coherent again. I've accepted that. In fact, I've embraced it. And--truth be told--it ain't so bad sitting on the sunny side of this discussion. Even if she isn't beautiful (which I think she is; even if the same architects that have long disliked the Horseshoe's structure spewed identical venom regarding the new Michigan Stadium this winter in the Ann Arbor News), she will no doubt be massive, impressive, and intimidating. Those adjectives quintessentially describe Michigan Stadium now--to a *greater* and *newer* degree than ever before. And each of the three is an awesome, awesome word.
Now, if only "3-9!" might become more of a battlecry for Michigan fans to **drop** their sense of entitlement (and years of "it's ok if you never yell; obviously, we'll still win" conditioning) than it is a battlecry to ramp up their entitlement in an attempt to pacify the fans of a currently-and-*transiently*-and-maybe-annoyingly-(but seriously go get some flipping composure)-MSU-team.
That is to say, if we as Michigan fans get our collective priotities straight, then I think we have an excellent chance to boast a venue that is far louder now than it's ever been before. Of course, we need to have concommitant structural and vocal support to accomplish that. The days of excusing our lameness with a flick of the wrist and the mentioning of "a shallow bowl" are officially behind us now.
I tend to agree with this on the whole, though I haven't yet gotten used to the idea completely. I think that it looks gorgeous from every angle aside from the end zones, and it will be a massive improvement... but I'd appreciate it if they could just do the end zones considering it's a relatively minor task.
I agree with you, unless: there is a plan to add brick, and/or extended seating/new scoreboard etc. that would somehow make it (the brick) non-feasible right now. $226 million is a pretty high price tag.
My thoughts exactly. The halo, even as it exists now is the wrong color Blue. Along with the scoreboards for that matter. They need to put brick where the existing wrong color blue border exists and then at the minimum change the color on the scoreboards to a navy, rather than royal blue.
I was thinking that too, but i think they should update them a little too.
http://img182.imageshack.us/i/godzillatron2yd0.jpg/
but i like how michigan has the actual scoreboard that says rushing, passing, total, combined with a videoboard.
i would like to see one kind of like this except with a little bigger screen:
http://www.huskerboard.com/hw/jumbotron.jpg
put the scoreboard on one side then rushing, passing, total on the other and on the bottom have one of those dot matrix boards like we have now. they should outline it in brick, have a big M stick up at the top, and put a sign that says: Michigan Welcomes You To The BIG HOUSE.
is present in the new medical building on the north side, as well as a small structure on the south side. The photos highlight the main structures on the stadium itself and so the effect of these other structures is not emphasized. When wiewing the stadium in person, on foot, the discontinuity is much less profound... at least, I found it so. Hope you do, too.
I think the roof of the visitor locker room should have a few I-beams above it and allow people to stand/walk around the roof. We can create the most intimidating locker room in college football since we can have x amount of people on the roof stomping and jumping before the game and during halftime.
Obviously, safety will be an issue, hence the I-beams. We focused on acoustics to enhance the intimidation factor, so we should build a roof patio above the visiting locker room. :)
Can't wait to see a game in 2010!
good idea! also, they should paint it baby blue!
There was a time when that would be a considered a major renovation for UM.
This may have been addressed in the past, but is the old press box going to stay? I hope it does.
This is the last season for it, so soak it up before things are dismantled
Yeap, it's gone. My understanding is that that thing is impossible to work in anyway. We might get better press with a better press box.
the worst press boxes in the nation actually
is something to be proud of.
Perhaps we could do a campaign this year, to make things even more miserable for the press during their last year in the old box. We could all direct our yells to the press box, or try to shake it to the ground...
The press box will be gone, but they are salvaging the "Michigan Stadium" perched atop it for the new one.
I'm gonna buy the damn thing and turn it into a restaurant.
Compete with the Fleetwood? You heathen!
For the most part, the interior of the bowl will be complete for this season. All the glass will be installed, but the old press box and none of the new seats will be installed yet. Walking out of the tunnel seeing the new structure is very impressive (I did it last week), and would be very intimidating to other teams. What I am most interested to see...err..hear this year is how much louder the crowd noise is with the glass being installed.
Thanks for the update...the season can't get here soon enough.
...but is the old, tiny, press box going to remain or be torn down and seats added there?
Seriously, this isn't even missing another thread. There are three posts about it in THIS thread.
Dear lord I'm blind... my bust
I was pleasantly surprised by the extra shade afforded by the new structures last season. Anytime I can avoid getting the "damn, you look like a lobster" comments at work on Monday, I'll take it.
of the new construction were already evident last year- people I know who work in the press box regularly said you could really hear a difference, and this was before the glass was put it. I think the new construction integrates very well with the existing stadium, there is no way you could possible compare it to that Roman Coliseum/Alien Spaceship this is now Soldier Field.
Oh, and I would love to see a pair of Godzillatrons over the end zones....
Maybe someone who went to a game last year can help me out (yes, sadly last year broke my streak of at least one game per year.)
Now that the brick structures block the outdoor concourse from extending around the whole stadium, is the foot traffic before and after games going to be approaching unbearable? Is it relatively easy to traverse through the new towers?
Well, I should think it would improve. With 4 concourses, all the the traffic from below AND above ground level won't all spill out to the exact same place.
Well, they'll all spill out onto ground level eventually, right?
You're right, though - getting out of the bowl itself might be faster. I was more picturing the milling around inside the gates but outside the stadium proper.
I didn't think it was too bad, at least not any worse than it was before. But, then again, it's not done yet.