Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/131896
Under the Dome areas beyond just football games or on Commencement Day each May. The potential additions to Notre Dame Stadium could include: • New spaces built for classrooms, conferences, speakers, meetings, receptions and other events. • A student center for assembly and activity areas. • Resources for media, most notably facilities for the university's expanding video and digital initiatives for academic purposes and external relations, as well as a press box. • A location to host various hospitality functions for community and campus patrons. • Enhancements to the fan experience, including premium seating options (i.e. skyboxes). "We will study the possibility of accomplishing multiple objectives — namely, preserve the campus' pedestrian character by taking advantage of a central location for needed facilities, retain the integrity of a legendary stadium, improve the visual at- tractiveness of the exterior stadium wall and enhance the game-day experience for our football fans," Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., the university's president, said after presenting an outline of the initiative to members of the Board of Trustees at its spring meeting. In the image provided by the university, some of the discernible differences in the future Notre Dame Stadium include: • The added seating capacity of approximately 4,000. • A shamrock logo in the center of the football field — with no mention of whether the playing surface would remain natural grass or change to FieldTurf. • An extension connecting Notre Dame Stadium to the Joyce Center on the east side, making the two edifices and prime athletic venues one. • Extensions and additions to the southwest and southeast corners (the side opposite "Touchdown Jesus") of Notre Dame Stadium, plus more work on the west side, where the cur- rent press box is located. • With "premium seating options" in the plans, the image rendering has the press box moved to the opposite side (east) from its current location, while the current press box would provide the premium seating. • On the north side of the stadium (nearest the "Touchdown Jesus" mural on the university library), there is currently a scoreboard in the center above the upper bowl of seats. That was removed in the rendered image, and added on that side are two smaller scoreboards or other electrical amenities near each corner. • In the image, the façade on the south side of the stadium extends well above the stands. While nothing has been mentioned about a Jumbotron getting built there, the potential for such an addition at that location would seem doable if the administration and/ or Board of Trustees approve it. "The North and South elements of this, we'll have to develop the programming concepts