SIAP, but I just saw this picture of the final approval for the NEZ . . . don’t believe I’d seen this particular one before. Looks pretty accurate, based on the work done so far, with the exception of the slight curve to the video board:
Impressive. Thanks
That looks in line with the steel structure now.
It really looks good. Can’t wait until it’s finished.
Does anyone know if the video screen itself has a curve or if it’s just the outer structure? I’m not sure what the exterior will look like looking down from the north, but there’s a curve in it, the scoreboard structure might be curved just to give it a symmetric look. I’m not sure why the screen would be curved unless it somehow helps visibility for people looking at it from a hard angle.
Back to the stadium itself. I know we’re millions of dollars & a major project away from it, but I’d love to see a major renovation to the west side of the stadium. I sat over there for the first time in years last season & was amazed at how cramped & crowded it was. I guess I’ve gotten too spoiled by the club areas & overall roominess under the east stands & SEZ.
Very cramped. What SHOULD have happened years ago (and doing it now would mean tearing down a lot of stuff they have built in the last 20 years, so it isn’t going to happen) is expand the West side OVER Razorback road. The road stays, it just runs under the West side. That is the only way to give the West side the room it needs.
I’m no engineer, so I’d defer to anyone who is to say what is the most efficient way to fix it, but I’ve always thought it’d be easier to curve Razorback Rd toward the west. That’d mean tearing down the hillside & perhaps destroying some buildings, but that would give some room to renovate inside the existing structure & maybe expand its west wall just a bit. I don’t know if making a tunnel is practical or not. I don’t know how expensive it’d be to gut the club areas on the west side, and take down part of the hillside that’s inside the stadium. Regardless, that part of the stadium is awful.
I don’t see anything happening to the west side. It would be extremely expensive to do what is needed. I figure it stays as is.
From the photos I’ve seen, plus driving past the stadium myself on Maple the other evening, it certainly appears to me that the NEZ screen is curved. Which is in line with what you’ll see along the back wall at your local Best Buy. Some of the really high-dollar TVs have curved screens as well. I would guess the idea behind curving a giant video board and the idea behind curving a 60-inch LED screen are the same.
I’ve seen conflicting reports from eye-witness accounts; some say the screen is curved, while others aren’t sure. All agree that the structure the screen is supported by has a slight curve to it - but not all agree that the screen itself is curved.
I guess we will all know soon enough.
I’ll be honest - I’ve not gone into a store and taken a close look at any of the new curved screens. Not sure how I feel about them, and/or if they make that much difference. One thing I do worry about is if you are not looking at the screen pretty straight-on, if one of the sides (the one nearest you) would have an increased angle (from your perspective) that would make seeing that half of the board more difficult?
Again . . . I guess I’ll know the answer to that directly.
I didn’t think I would like the curved TVs until my in-laws bought one. I love it; haven’t noticed any issues with watching it from an angle.
I’m sure you’re right. At least for several years to come & only then if money pours into the program.
The NEZ looks whop-sided with the standing-room-only area.
That sketchup 3D of the future NEZ is off. Notice how the corners of the stands are on top of the corners of the endzone. If you look at the actual photograph, you can see the border around the field, which is not going away. There will be room beyond that border for cheerleaders, trainers, security personnel, etc. to get around the endzone without going out onto the field. Then the seating railings and structure will start. Nice 3D but either the field or the 3D is in the wrong location.
The NEZ screen is definitely curved. Look at it from Razorback or Stadium and it’s easy to see.
I don’t think we can know that with very much certainty yet because they’re not building the field-level structures yet. The cheerleaders, etc, could be tucked in the corners. It could be a very tight fit. In the current RRS, there is only about 20 feet between the back of the south end zone and the shrubbery in front of the Red Zone seats. That border around the field, by rule, is 6 feet wide. The dotted line behind that is another 6 feet away from the field, for a total of 12 feet. The stands could come up very close to the dotted line without infringing the rules.
This image, from the UA website, shows a pretty tight fit but not as tight as the 3D. Once again, that dotted line around the field is 12 feet from the sideline. Again I could see cheerleaders, etc, tucked in the corner. You know the visiting cheerleaders will be tucked in the northeast corner.
The NCAA rulebook does not specify a separation space between the back of the end zone and any obstruction (fence, etc). Neither does the NFL rulebook, actually. There has to be 36 feet of room between the sideline and the front row on an NFL field for the team area which includes the bench, but the NCAA has no such requirement. Some stadiums, notably Notre Dame, are intentionally designed with very little space on the sidelines; Knute Rockne supposedly said he didn’t want to leave a lot of room for “sideline guests”.
I don’t make it by that side of campus very often–in fact I usually avoid it because of traffic. But I drove by a couple of weeks ago and was blown away by the scale of the project. I mean I’ve seen all the renderings, and watched the construction webcams so I knew the addition would be awesome–but it still caught me by surprise. It’s massive. And it’s going to make DWRRS absolutely spectacular. The view approaching the stadium from the NE via maple is grand–if fact it gave this old Hog fan chills thinking how intimidating DWRRS is going to be when complete. I believe it’s truly going to be one of the finest stadiums in all of college football.
Razorback Road is actually State Hwy 112, so any major changes to it has to be done by and with the permission of that Arkansas Department of Transportation.
Correct. Which would probably be easier to get than if the Fayetteville Board of Directors had to approve it, as long as UA was paying the cost of the changes.
Yeah, it looks pretty impressive in person. And I’d add that having another scoreboard on the opposite end looks really cool, too.
When I think of tight sidelines, Boone Pickens Stadium is the first that comes to mind.
