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Too cool for school?

Populous designed the TCF Bank Stadium with the ultimate college football experience in mind

Jeff Spear

When Populous (formerly HOK Sport Venue Event) was awarded the contract to design the new TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota, the occasion was historic on many levels. Not only was it just the sixth 50,000-seat, on-campus stadium to be built in the last 50 years, but the stadium was also designed to become the first football stadium in the USA to achieve LEED certification.

Such a monumental project gave Populous architects the chance to re-examine the essence of collegiate football and how design can enhance that experience. “Collegiate football is game day; it’s the traditions and the band, the cheerleaders and the school colours and the pride,” says Scott Radecic, Populous senior principal. “Our task was to collect all that emotion and design a building that could hold it all.”

TCF Bank Stadium’s exterior design draws from the historical references of home team the Golden Gophers’ on-campus home from 1924 to 1981 (Memorial Stadium), both in form and material. TCF Bank Stadium’s brick façade perimeter wall with arched portals reflects the heritage of ‘The Brick House’ exterior, and an encircling colonnade provides a year-round walkway around the stadium. Inside the colonnade, 87 special panels represent each Minnesota county and every Minnesotan’s contributions to the project.

Rotating the seating bowl to an east/west axis allowed for the opening of the horseshoe-shaped bowl to face west, capturing incredible views of downtown Minneapolis and the university campus, physically connecting the building to campus. The open end zone creates a special gathering space, called the Minnesota Plaza, to celebrate the state every day of the year.

On game day, fans will enter the stadium through giant 16ft-high entry gates. The band will practice in its 6,500ft² rehearsal room within the stadium’s confines before marching onto the field. Fans will follow the team into the stadium through a single concourse with views out to the playing field, and students will form a wall of intimidation for the opposing team in their 10,000-seat section in the east end zone. Premium ticket holders on the suite and club level will be situated amid the seating bowl to illustrate the intimate, community feel. A video board the size of a basketball court (the second largest in NCAA football) and sideline wraparound LED ribbon board will enhance the excitement on the field. Recruits, too, will be wowed by their experience at the new stadium, especially the spacious home locker room. At 12,375ft², the football-shaped room is the largest football locker room in the country and has four specially designed glass-encased spaces for travelling exhibits such as Big 10 rivalry trophies.

An exterior façade evoking the tradition of the game and the team, coupled with modern fan and player amenities inside, provides the University of Minnesota a home all its own, with new revenue streams.

“Although we designed a new stadium, what we’ve really done is created a place for a new generation of traditions,” says Radecic.

Jeff Spear, AIA, was Populous’ lead designer on TCF Bank Stadium

Image: Christine Radecic