by Craig Laycock
Original article:
Facts
Built: 2014
Capacity: 68,500
Biggest event: Ed Sheeran mathematics tour (80,058)
The Levi’s Stadium is one with an interestingly complex history.The home of the San Francisco 49ers has had a difficult start to life, with friction between the club, stadium officials, designers, and the Santa Clara City Council rearing its head on multiple occasions.
Critics of the stadium’s design are easy to find. A lack of shade on the east side of the stadium is derided by some (apparently aviation rules prevented the tall structures required to provide adequate shade), leading to heat exhaustion from some fans.
Some fans say the new venue lacks soul compared with their old stadium at Candlestick Park. Some say it’s the worst of both worlds, having neither history nor a “modern” stadium design. Some deride the distance from their old home.
Hang on a minute, though. I’m going to step in here. Surely something that is antithetical to modern stadium design is something you want to embrace. Every modern stadium looks exactly the same these days, so the fact that Levi’s Stadium is doing something different is interesting to me.
Costing about 1.2 billion dollars, and located 40 miles or so south of San Francisco (much to the previously mentioned annoyance of 49ers fans), the Levi’s has a massive screen hanging from its roof, as seems to be de rigueur for an American stadium.
But more impressive than that feat of engineering to me is the sharp incline of the huge third tier of the stands, which tower over the “back” half of the stadium. It gives the stadium a fascinating visual asymmetry which contrasts beautifully with many of the bowl stadia you see in football in Europe.
Is it worth the price of heat exhaustion? Maybe not. It’ll be interesting to see what enhanced fan amenities FIFA and stadium officials provide to combat that problem.
Our verdict
I’m going to file this one under “different”. It may not have the backing of all of the 49ers fans, but as an American stadium experience this one will hit different for football fans tired of seeing the same old bowls.
4 min read
Facts
Built: 2014
Capacity: 68,500
Biggest event: Ed Sheeran mathematics tour (80,058)
The Levi’s Stadium is one with an interestingly complex history.The home of the San Francisco 49ers has had a difficult start to life, with friction between the club, stadium officials, designers, and the Santa Clara City Council rearing its head on multiple occasions.
Critics of the stadium’s design are easy to find. A lack of shade on the east side of the stadium is derided by some (apparently aviation rules prevented the tall structures required to provide adequate shade), leading to heat exhaustion from some fans.
Some fans say the new venue lacks soul compared with their old stadium at Candlestick Park. Some say it’s the worst of both worlds, having neither history nor a “modern” stadium design. Some deride the distance from their old home.
Hang on a minute, though. I’m going to step in here. Surely something that is antithetical to modern stadium design is something you want to embrace. Every modern stadium looks exactly the same these days, so the fact that Levi’s Stadium is doing something different is interesting to me.
Costing about 1.2 billion dollars, and located 40 miles or so south of San Francisco (much to the previously mentioned annoyance of 49ers fans), the Levi’s has a massive screen hanging from its roof, as seems to be de rigueur for an American stadium.
But more impressive than that feat of engineering to me is the sharp incline of the huge third tier of the stands, which tower over the “back” half of the stadium. It gives the stadium a fascinating visual asymmetry which contrasts beautifully with many of the bowl stadia you see in football in Europe.
Is it worth the price of heat exhaustion? Maybe not. It’ll be interesting to see what enhanced fan amenities FIFA and stadium officials provide to combat that problem.
Our verdict
I’m going to file this one under “different”. It may not have the backing of all of the 49ers fans, but as an American stadium experience this one will hit different for football fans tired of seeing the same old bowls.
Levi's Stadium: Controversially cool
Not without controversy.
Original article:
Last updated:
Facts
Built: 2014
Capacity: 68,500
Biggest event: Ed Sheeran mathematics tour (80,058)
The Levi’s Stadium is one with an interestingly complex history.The home of the San Francisco 49ers has had a difficult start to life, with friction between the club, stadium officials, designers, and the Santa Clara City Council rearing its head on multiple occasions.
Critics of the stadium’s design are easy to find. A lack of shade on the east side of the stadium is derided by some (apparently aviation rules prevented the tall structures required to provide adequate shade), leading to heat exhaustion from some fans.
Some fans say the new venue lacks soul compared with their old stadium at Candlestick Park. Some say it’s the worst of both worlds, having neither history nor a “modern” stadium design. Some deride the distance from their old home.
Hang on a minute, though. I’m going to step in here. Surely something that is antithetical to modern stadium design is something you want to embrace. Every modern stadium looks exactly the same these days, so the fact that Levi’s Stadium is doing something different is interesting to me.
Costing about 1.2 billion dollars, and located 40 miles or so south of San Francisco (much to the previously mentioned annoyance of 49ers fans), the Levi’s has a massive screen hanging from its roof, as seems to be de rigueur for an American stadium.
But more impressive than that feat of engineering to me is the sharp incline of the huge third tier of the stands, which tower over the “back” half of the stadium. It gives the stadium a fascinating visual asymmetry which contrasts beautifully with many of the bowl stadia you see in football in Europe.
Is it worth the price of heat exhaustion? Maybe not. It’ll be interesting to see what enhanced fan amenities FIFA and stadium officials provide to combat that problem.
Our verdict
I’m going to file this one under “different”. It may not have the backing of all of the 49ers fans, but as an American stadium experience this one will hit different for football fans tired of seeing the same old bowls.
4 min read
Levi's Stadium: Controversially cool
Not without controversy.
Facts
Built: 2014
Capacity: 68,500
Biggest event: Ed Sheeran mathematics tour (80,058)
The Levi’s Stadium is one with an interestingly complex history.The home of the San Francisco 49ers has had a difficult start to life, with friction between the club, stadium officials, designers, and the Santa Clara City Council rearing its head on multiple occasions.
Critics of the stadium’s design are easy to find. A lack of shade on the east side of the stadium is derided by some (apparently aviation rules prevented the tall structures required to provide adequate shade), leading to heat exhaustion from some fans.
Some fans say the new venue lacks soul compared with their old stadium at Candlestick Park. Some say it’s the worst of both worlds, having neither history nor a “modern” stadium design. Some deride the distance from their old home.
Hang on a minute, though. I’m going to step in here. Surely something that is antithetical to modern stadium design is something you want to embrace. Every modern stadium looks exactly the same these days, so the fact that Levi’s Stadium is doing something different is interesting to me.
Costing about 1.2 billion dollars, and located 40 miles or so south of San Francisco (much to the previously mentioned annoyance of 49ers fans), the Levi’s has a massive screen hanging from its roof, as seems to be de rigueur for an American stadium.
But more impressive than that feat of engineering to me is the sharp incline of the huge third tier of the stands, which tower over the “back” half of the stadium. It gives the stadium a fascinating visual asymmetry which contrasts beautifully with many of the bowl stadia you see in football in Europe.
Is it worth the price of heat exhaustion? Maybe not. It’ll be interesting to see what enhanced fan amenities FIFA and stadium officials provide to combat that problem.
Our verdict
I’m going to file this one under “different”. It may not have the backing of all of the 49ers fans, but as an American stadium experience this one will hit different for football fans tired of seeing the same old bowls.
4 min read