A League of Their Own
by Paul Tarricone, Assoc. Editor;Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1994, Vol. 64, Issue 5, Pg. 58-61
Document Type: Feature article
Abstract:
New baseball stadiums in Cleveland and Arlington, Tex., opening in April 1994, combine the nostalgia of traditional ballparks with state-of-the-art site planning and structural engineering. The Cleveland Indians Baseball Park is part of an major urban-renewal effort in Cleveland, and planners had to ensure that the stadium would complement its surroundings. Since the site is located downtown, pedestrian and vehicle traffic management and parking were major considerations. Regional highways have been equipped with IVHS systems, and Cleveland has become one of the first cities in the U.S. to have a local IVHS to direct traffic to parking facilities near the Gateway Complex, home of the stadium. By contrast, the Ballpark in Arlington, home to the Texas Rangers, is built on a suburban site, which will include amenities such as a series of man-made lakes, an amphitheater and a little league stadium built onsite. Structurally and architecturally, each strikes another deathblow to the concrete cookie-cutter-type multipurpose design that defined U.S. stadiums in the 1960s and 1970s. Instead they're designed in the increasingly popular old-time, traditional ballpark motif, highlighted by asymmetrical dimensions and exposed structural steel frames. Both projects highlight the challenges faced in modern stadium design, which include aesthetics, asymmetry, unobstructed views, multiple levels of suites and fast-track scheduling.
Subject Headings: Stadiums and sport facilities | Traffic management | Parking facilities | Steel frames | Asymmetry | Vehicles | Urban and regional development
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