MetLife Stadium
East Rutherford, N.J.
Year in Showcase: 2011
Project Description
Designers of MetLife Stadium faced a complex challenge in creating a facility that serves two masters and needs to fully change, potentially in a matter of hours, to an exciting fan atmosphere for followers of the Jets and Giants. AB's panel of judges decided that the design team succeeded ably, with one judge remarking that the ambitious project both provides the needed flexibility and "presents a bold and dynamic expression" that nonetheless utilizes an exterior skin of aluminum louvers that "transform a large and complex facility into a light and contemporary form."
Home to two NFL teams, the stadium is team-neutral on non-game days but, through the use of LED display technologies, each team can personalize the stadium environment, inside and out, with separate colors and team logos. Boasting more than 40,000 square feet of LED video displays, including more than 18,000 square feet outside the venue, the stadium experience can be altered outside, in the seating bowl and in concourses from a central control station. The original Meadowlands' sightlines and intimate seating bowl have been re-created in the new stadium, except that deep overhangs were removed in order to meet the teams' request that all patrons be able to see the full arc of a 90-foot-high punt. One of the many club-seating areas, the Coaches' Club, offers field-level access and the option to stand outside at drink/food rails just five yards from the home team's bench.
"This replacement of a dated, nondescript sports venue with a transformational new facility made for a memorable and technologically advanced award-winner," one judge said.
Judges' Comments
MetLife Stadium responds to the difficult challenge of creating individual environments for two very strong and unique sports brands within the same footprint.
— Mark Williams
Looking beyond this facility’s cost of $1 billion, the shared-use arrangement sets it apart from all other new professional stadiums.
— Erik Kocher
LED lighting and electronic video boards allow the stadium operator to convert from the Giants to the Jets with the flip of a switch, providing dramatic identification for each of the teams.
— Tom Scarlata
Project Details
Architect/Engineer Of Record: EwingCole; Philadelphia, Pa.
Design Architect: 360 Architecture; Kansas City, Mo.
Seating Capacity: 82,566
Funded By: Private funds
Major Facility Components: Synthetic-turf field, seating bowl with 200-plus suites, separate Jets and Giants home locker rooms
Construction Cost: $998 million
Occupancy: April 2010
Vendors
Court Panels/Glass Walls: Hydroworx International Inc.
Dryers: Pellerin Milnor Corp.
Flooring:
Mondo
Flooring: Nora
Football Goal Posts: Aae (Aluminum Athletic Equipment Co.)
Lighting: Ge Sports Lighting Systems
Lockers: Lyon Workspace Products
Scoreboards: Daktronics Inc.
Shower/Toilet Partitions: Metpar Corp.
Soccer Goals: Qwik Goal
Sports Surfaces:
FieldTurf
Washers: Pellerin Milnor Corp.
