Rent Field Orientation

[Nostical]

The Rent is not great-- and that comes from the designers. The architects were asked to create something that was not as conducive to a collegiate football experience for several reasons. The bldg director --guy in charge---wanted to be able to see the field while getting a hot dog---- cause he missed seeing a kick off return by Joe Morris as a kid in Giants Stadium.
The architects obliged, utilized some baseball stadium principals, and there weren't any committee members who had D-1 football experience to object. They projected a 15,000 average crowd for games. It resulted in large spaces where folks congregate but don't sit in their seats, especially near the scoreboard. Cost factored as well. It was cheaper that way then closing the spaces with concrete. All the seats were to be blue chairbacks, but cost got in the way---mainly for a state of the art sound system. Before all the changes, the stadium looked more like the one later built at UCF--Brighthouse Stadium.

The scoreboard has a 7 year life and is being held together with electrical tape. The new one has an HD screen taking up the entire area of the old including the ad signage and score screen. That score/down/distance display will be below the screen. it costs $2M and the funds have yet to be found.

 

[bmayuc]

After reading some of the responses to my original post I decided to randomly check the orientation of some other stadiums. I checked the following Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers, Ohio State, Auburn, The Meadowlands and Gillette. Without exception they all were built with the end zone to end zone running mostly North to South. The rent runs end zone to end zone more East to West with the highest part of the stadium on the south.

As I said in the original post as built the main seating section cast shadows on the field making for a poor TV broadcast and shades most of the fans. I wasn't sure when I started this thread but I would believe there is a reason all the other stadiums (as random of a sample that it is) are built in the opposite orientation than the Rent.

We in section 229 LOVE The Rent. All you need to pack is a pair of sunglasses and you you are good to go. I see no problem with the broadcasts, either. I can't ever remember watching a UConn home game and being distracted by anything having to do with Sun/Shade

+1 architects!

 

[Waquoit]

The Rent is not great-- and that comes from the designers.

What do they know? The dopes stumbled on to a design that has GREAT sightlines, reasonable width per seat and decent depth in the rows. It's easy to get to and leave. It should have more men's restroom space and the food is the worst but those are minor quibbles. Are folks from the cheap seats standing that big of a deal?

 

[Excalibur]

I'm not sure why people think that the open concourses are a problem. If there's any design feature to borrow from baseball stadiums, that's it.

 

[noeynox]

What do they know? The dopes stumbled on to a design that has GREAT sightlines, reasonable width per seat and decent depth in the rows. It's easy to get to and leave. It should have more men's restroom space and the food is the worst but those are minor quibbles. Are folks from the cheap seats standing that big of a deal?

I agree with this. The one place I actually enjoyed watching games at more was the old foxboro because that had GREAT sightlines. Anywhere in that place you could appreciate the game. The new foxboro has nosebleeds areas that I'd rather never sit in again. If I struggle to watch a game because the sightlines are bad, I'd rather watch at home on TV.

By the way, great thread with a lot of informative stuff and history on the construction of the Rent.

 

[SubbaBub]

Me thinks, people in this thread are redirecting the criticisms they had stored up, anticipating a loss to RU.

 

[kibblesnbits]

I'm not sure why people think that the open concourses are a problem. If there's any design feature to borrow from baseball stadiums, that's it.

I'm not sure where the idea came from that this is a "baseball stadium feature." It is also quite common in modern football stadiums such as Gillette.

P.S. I liked the old Foxboro Stadium too. Not being luxury box wealthy I really don't care about the fancy amenities in the new stadium. The old stadium had great sightlines and a pitch that didn't leave you convinced that even the slightest lean forward was taking your life in your hands. The upper deck at some of these new stadiums feels like you are looking down a cliff.

 

[UCHuskies08]

I like the warm side and cold side being what they are. When it gets cold, the visiting team's sideline is on the cold side, our team is standing in the sun.

 

[ruskin]

Before posting googled 'Rentschler construction' and hit Ellerbe Beckett as the architects and Hunt/Gilbane of CT as builders. Some of the things I came across in the various Rent bios online seem to be at odds with some earlier posts, but you can decide for yourself.

Other than not being on campus, I like everything most else, especially convenient location and moderately easy in-and-out (when managed properly). I'm on the sunny side, don't mind early season heat and love late season warmth. Always fun to watch sunny side fill up on cold days; best one was '03 'Rutgers game. View of Hartford skyline is a big plus IMO.

Right now Rent's biggest deficiency is lack of state-of-the-art scoreboards. Should be more than just two and key numbers should be way more visible. (put east end scoreboard above the DJ booth). Would like to see ring separating upper and lower bowls with the electronic signage you see a lot in the pros that would alternately have stats, ads, and (relunctantly) crowd exhortations.

 

[guyergym]

All the seats were to be blue chairbacks, but cost got in the way---mainly for a state of the art sound system.

They gave up good seats for a sound system featuring that crappy DJ and the awful music they play when the other team has third down? That's awful.

 

[lsuconnman]

This thread is silly. There are no glaring deficiencies with the Rent, and to claim otherwise would only expose a glaring unfamiliarity with collegiate football. I could post dozens of pics from various stadiums that exhibit the commonality of the west side press box or need for binoculars.

 

[Waquoit]

They gave up good seats for a sound system featuring that crappy DJ and the awful music they play when the other team has third down? That's awful.

I heard that story but I don't buy it. Another story I read was that Lew Perkins insisted on benches so they could charge a premium for the chairbacks. But the soundsystem is in fact top notch and is another nice feature at The Rent. Beats the sound coming out a couple of tinny speakers in one end zone like at the SEC field I visited.

 

[Devland]

I found this interesting and thought I would share. Plaza area is standing room.

 

[geohusky]

This thread is silly. There are no glaring deficiencies with the Rent, and to claim otherwise would only expose a glaring unfamiliarity with collegiate football. I could post dozens of pics from various stadiums that exhibit the commonality of the west side press box or need for binoculars.

I never thought this thread would get so much activity. I started it because of the shadows on the field when watching the game Saturday. I didn't think it would result in a redesign or expansion of the Rent discussion.

After much research and distraction from work I found the following:

A north/south playing field although not required is the desired orientation for a football field. The majority of fields are built with this orientation. (I think I read 90% of college stadiums are built this way) The Rent is not. By keeping the field North/South the field is normally devoid of shadows and the sun is not in the players eyes. This is the orientation where you would have west side press boxes as lsuconnman posted above. The rent has southerly press boxes that cast the shadow on the field.

For some reason the Rent was built more East/West. My opinion, for what it's worth, the Rent would have been better served being built like most other stadiums with the field running North/South.

Go Huskies Beat Cincy

 

[Nostical]

The chair backs being sacrificed for the sound system is not a story. It's a fact. As a result, The Rent has a state of the art sound system with no reverberation. There were a lot of guns or butter decisions made during construction.

 

[kibblesnbits]

I never thought this thread would get so much activity. I started it because of the shadows on the field when watching the game Saturday. I didn't think it would result in a redesign or expansion of the Rent discussion.

After much research and distraction from work I found the following:

A north/south playing field although not required is the desired orientation for a football field. The majority of fields are built with this orientation. (I think I read 90% of college stadiums are built this way) The Rent is not. By keeping the field North/South the field is normally devoid of shadows and the sun is not in the players eyes. This is the orientation where you would have west side press boxes as lsuconnman posted above. The rent has southerly press boxes that cast the shadow on the field.

For some reason the Rent was built more East/West. My opinion, for what it's worth, the Rent would have been better served being built like most other stadiums with the field running North/South.

Go Huskies Beat Cincy

I'm not sure a north/south field is best for a team playing noon games in a relatively northern location. Here's the Google Maps image for The Rent:

It's undoubtedly an early season noon game because the sun is high in the sky and based on the press box shadow, due south. As the game progresses the shadow would shift more to the northeast (sun setting to the southwest), almost perpendicular to the field. Later in the season the shadows would be longer, but in no case would the sun come anywhere near affecting the players on the field. In fact, from an impact on the game standpoint, unless they are going to start at the crack of dawn, The Rent is about as perfectly situated as possible. By contrast, if it was north/south, players looking toward the south end would be facing directly into the sun, particularly in the first half of noon starts. Of course, that may not be of much consolation to those fans sitting in the shadow of The Rent's press box late in the season.