Stadium Report Card: Carter-Finley Stadium

I drove about 11 hours total with my dad to see my #3 team in the country lose to his college.

Team: NC State Wolfpack Football
Location: Raleigh, NC
League: Atlantic Coast Conference
Built: 1965(renovated in 2003)
Capacity: 57,583
My event: Regular Season Game vs Florida State

1. Outdoor Design

The school has a large architecture school, so it totally makes sense that it looks state of the art. This was the south side along the sidelines, this is where the pressboxes and everything were. This side and the east side were fairly new, but the north side we sat in you could tell was from the 60s. Still really nice. 7/10  

2. Indoor Design

It was different than what I'm used to which is a HUGE bowl, but the way it was layed out was nice. You could see everything going on at the stadium, and it had nice views to the outside of the stadium. 8/10

3. Prices

Our ticket was 65, which was sold to us by a guy who couldn't make the game at 8. Through FSU, I would've gotten the same deal and sat in the FSU section. The tickets seemed a little high, but the food prices were pretty cheap 5/10

4. Food

Fine Carolina barbecue, and then a selection of stadium food. Also a shout out to the stadium for giving you a cup with ice with your bottle of drink.  6/10

5. Staff

They were orderly and nice, even if I was wearing a FSU shirt! Everyone there was super cool.  8/10

6. Cleanliness

I thought it was actually really clean too. No complaints, seemed just right. 7/10

7. Parking

The stadium splits it's parking lot with the PNC Center, where the Hurricanes/basketball team plays their home games. That was a pretty big development. On top of that, there is a close business park where you can tailgate for about 10 bucks, but my dad and I got there early and parked for free along the road. No traffic on the way out either! 9/10

8. Atmosphere

One thing I can say is that they did leave only down 16-0. About 1/5th of the stadium emptied out, because the fan base is particularly pessimistic. But as soon as they started completing passes and wearing down the D, the fans came alive and it was cool to see. 7/10

9. Playing Surface

No problems with footing that I can remember, Thompson slipped a few times while running, but I think that was his fault. It was pretty clean and treated well. 8/10

10. Scoreboard
                               
The scoreboard was just a small little thing on the West side of the field, but it got the job done. As far as presentation, the PA announcer wasn't great, and the sound was meh. 6/10

Carter Finley gets a 71. Not a bad score at all. I honestly truly liked the stadium, despite the outcome. It was a really fun trip to take, and everyone was so nice. It might be because I wasn't an asshole about my team like some people can be, but I would recommend this stadium if you're ever close on a Saturday.

Minnesota Vikings Stadium News

Heard about this on the blog http://stadium-love-.tumblr.com/

Via the Penalty Flag 

Long have the Minnesota Vikings needed state funding for a new place to call home, now they have the architect and concept images of what future NFL stadiums could represent. 

According to TwinCities.com, Dallas-based HKS Inc., which designed the new Dallas Cowboys stadium as well as Lucas Oil in Indianapolis, was hired to build the $975 million facility for the Vikings in downtown Minneapolis. 

“Those two facilities are among the greatest in the world, and we’re very, very excited about taking what they’ve learned and what they’ve done and improving upon those projects and bringing that to Minnesota,” said Lester Bagley, the Vikings’ vice president of public affairs and stadium development. 

HKS will be paid $34 million, which includes payments to sub consultants as well. Drawings of what the new stadium will look like will likely be unveiled in January or February of next year, officials said. 

HKS was a joint pick by the team and the public stadium authority that was created after the Legislature approved $348 million in state money for the project. 

The Vikings are contributing $477 million, and the city of Minneapolis will pitch in $150 million. The facility will replace the Metrodome, the team’s current home on the eastern edge of downtown. It is expected to open in 2016. 

The authority released two conceptual designs Friday showing HKS’s ideas for the Vikings facility, but Kelm-Helgen said the stadium would likely look very different from those drawings. She said that beginning in October, the authority will have several meetings to hear how the public would like the stadium to look.

I mean, damn. Look at that concept.

New Rays Stadium Proposal

The Rays are back at it again sorta

 A group of developers proposed a new Rays stadium located in the business park named Carillon in north north St. Pete near the airport. The proposal is on the other side of the highway from my concept, if you need help visualizing. This one would cost roughly $600 million, with the developer putting up $150 million and the Rays believed to be willing to put up another $150 million. The Rays, aren't involved with this particular plan. It's just something a developer has come up with. 

St. Petersburg's City Council held a special two-hour meeting Friday to hear the proposal and hopes to get a new stadium built in St. Petersburg, as opposed to across Tampa Bay in Tampa. The proposal is beautiful, and planning to have around 35,000 seats. Actual businesses will be built into the side of the ballpark. The plan is to have business go on during the day, and then come gametime the parking lots around the stadium to be cleared and be available for parking. On top of that, Disney-style trams will go around making the walk not bad. Plus the renderings are pretty.

Many people want them to build the stadium in downtown Tampa. Thing is, the developers did a study on population and travel time and found that in this location across the bay from Tampa would have the most people within 30 minutes. So all of Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Pete could essentially drive there in a half hour. Sound familiar? But the Rays should take this seriously, the proposal is still in the St Pete city limits, and there is already bars and businesses all around that could host fans before and after games. 

I just hope this gets done coming from a huge fan.