The city of San Diego has released a flythrough video showcasing the design of a proposed San Diego Chargers stadium, stressing how the NFL facility would present a state-of-the-art fan experience.
The video highlights a Mission Valley sports entertainment complex, incorporating more than just the proposed stadium in the Dick Enberg-narrated pitch prepared by sports-architecture firm Populous.
“With a design that reflects the characteristics people love about San Diego, this new stadium will provide a fan experience unlike any other in the NFL,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer in a statement.
“The stadium is about San Diego and the social experience; innovation and intimacy; moments and memories; football and the future,” Populous said in a statement. “By designing for the city’s strengths, the stadium will transcend generations and bring fans together around a beautiful city and a shared passion for football.”
Here’s a description of the new stadium:
- Lifestyle and Weather – San Diego’s outdoor lifestyle and beautiful year-round weather is embraced by enormous end zone party decks that total 70,000 square feet. There are also multiple 360-degree concourses which create informal spaces for fans to gather and watch the game.
- Culture of Innovation – To celebrate San Diego’s culture of innovation, the latest technology will be incorporated throughout the stadium. Color-changing LED lighting will illuminate the expansive, maritime-influenced fabric canopy and video boards in the end zone will be the largest in the National Football League. The design is also flexible and accessible to provide the best possible site for future Super Bowls in the country.
- Neighborhoods – Much like San Diego itself, the stadium will be comprised of distinct seating and communities, ranging from social spaces and outdoor decks with views of the playing field to field level club seats and end zone suites.
- Geographic Influences – The design reflects the geography of San Diego with a moving façade, or wind-powered kinetic skin, that wraps around the stadium to create a fluid, shimmering form that mimics the nearby coastline’s waves. The seating bowl is inspired by the city’s mesas and valleys with fractures in the corners to allow views in and out of the stadium.
Whether this will be enough to keep the Chargers or lure another team remains to be seen. The Chargers ownership has been clear that they will apply for relocation to Los Angeles, but the end destination remain to be seen. The Chargers and the Oakland Raiders have been working on a new-stadium plan in Carson, while St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke has been working on a new-stadium plan in Inglewood. A decision by NFL owners on relocation won’t happen until early 2016 at the earliest, and both a stadium decision and a relocation strategy need to be finalized; for instance, it’s assumed only one team would immediately move given the limited availability of the Los Angeles Coliseum.
NFL officials are holding public meetings in St. Louis, Oakland and San Diego to discuss relocation issues. The San Diego meeting is set for Wednesday, Oct. 28 at the Spreckels Theater.