New York Giants and New York Jets officials last week were scheduled to discuss teaming 360 Architecture and EwingCole to design their proposed $800 million NFL facility at the New Jersey Meadowlands in East Rutherford, said John Mara, Giants vice president and chief operating officer.
The Jets hired 360 and New York-based Kohn Pedersen Fox about three years ago to plan their $1.4 billion stadium and convention center on the west side of Manhattan, a project effectively killed in June when a state board did not approve $300 million in public funding for the complex.
The Giants hired Ellerbe Becket and Philadelphia-based EwingCole in January to plan their $700 million facility in East Rutherford to replace Giants Stadium. Ellerbe Becket dropped out of the project after five of the company’s six principals, including Giants project member Mike Sabatini, departed for HOK Sport in March, Mara said.
360 and EwingCole have not previously worked together, said Chris Lamberth, 360’s director of business development.
The Hammes Group, leading the Giants’ efforts to plan for development around the new stadium and in conjunction with the Xanadu retail and entertainment complex planned nearby, could be involved in the new collaboration, Mara said.
The Giants are willing to compromise on the stadium design, which could incorporate ideas from both architects, he said. The Jets did not respond to a call for comment.
The teams agreed late last month to share the cost of building and operating the new stadium.
THE NAME STAYS: Drake University officials in Des Moines discovered that their intention to keep the Drake Stadium name intact and not rename the facility for a corporate entity or individual donor actually helped them raise the $15.8 million to pay for the first phase of renovating the 80-year-old building, said athletic director Dave Blank.
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| Drake’s decision not to rename its stadium has helped open purse strings for $15.8M in renovations. The plaza shown in this rendering would be part of a possible second phase. |
“People we were asking to write us a check told us they didn’t want us to change the name,” Blank said.
The stadium, home to the Drake Relays and Division I-AA football, is being turned into a multipurpose facility featuring a new Mondo track surface, and FieldTurf and six permanent light structures to accommodate the NCAA track and field championships, soccer and high school football.
The stadium’s north end has been expanded to include a throws venue. Most of the Drake Relays’ field events were previously conducted two blocks away.
The bulk of the improvements will be done in time for the 2006 relays in late April.
Local architect RDG Planning & Design drew up the renovation.
The blueprints eliminated the first three rows of seats around the stadium to provide more space for sprinters and distance runners. “Lane 8 was so intimate that you could actually lean over the retaining wall and hit a runner in the head,” said Al Oberlander, RDG principal.
New bleachers will widen seat space from 12 inches to 18 inches and, combined with the reduced number of rows, will decrease the stadium’s capacity from 18,000 to about 13,600, Blank said.
Relays ticket revenue stays the same because the 3,000 to 4,000 participants and coaches that sat in the stadium during the event will be moved to other areas, he said. The event’s Saturday session has sold out for the past 40 years.
A possible second phase costing $8 million to $10 million could add 1,500 to 1,700 club seats and create a plaza on the stadium’s west end recognizing donors and relays history, Blank said.
Don Muret can be reached at dmuret@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
