A New Home for NCAA Men’s College World Series

June 15, 2011

The NCAA Men’s College World Series of Baseball (CWS) has a new home. It will be played in Omaha, Nebraska just like it has for the past 60 years, but when the Series opens June 18, the stadium will be brand new.

In collaboration, Populous and HDR Architecture designed the 24,000-seat TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. The stadium will serve as home field for the Creighton University baseball team in addition to being the home of the Men’s College World Series of Baseball. In June of 2009, the NCAA and College World Series of Omaha, Inc. announced a 25-year contract extension that will keep the CWS in Omaha through 2035.

Unique in capacity, purpose and character, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha will enhance the city’s reputation as one of America’s great sports communities.  Designed to fit within the context of the entertainment quarter and as a gateway to downtown, the new stadium is intended to serve as a catalyst to future development.

The new stadium will be very accommodating for television broadcasts. A dedicated camera area behind home plate will provide up-close angles, and more than 20 field-facing camera positions will give the audience spectacular views of each game. An outfield scoreboard measures 1,782 square feet.

TD Ameritrade Ballpark Omaha will host multiple events outside of baseball season,  including music festivals and UFL football games. An easily movable pitching mound can be broken down and removed in about an hour, making the stadium’s transition into non-baseball events very simple. This innovative pitching mound design is found in only one other ballpark, AT&T Park in San Francisco, another Populous project.

“TD Ameritrade Park Omaha represents the pinnacle of collegiate baseball on many levels, and we felt the design had to be on par with that experience,” said Joe Spear, FAIA, senior principal of Populous. “It’s a ballpark that celebrates tradition, the Midwestern spirit, and not only great baseball but family events as well.”

According to Bruce Carpenter, AIA, HDR project principal, the stadium design is based on the development of experiences: those of the student athlete for participation in the competition, those of the fans and patrons visiting multiple games throughout each season, and the development of the community experience—what the stadium will contribute to the CWS event and its relationship to the city of Omaha.

“The stadium design embodies the tradition led by the citizens of Omaha, as well as their support of another 25 successful years of baseball tradition. The meaning of the architecture is conveyed in the hierarchy and details of the structure, as unique and interdependent as the relationship between the CWS and Omaha,” Carpenter said.

Natural light brightens the enclosed spaces on the concourse, giving patrons an enhanced experience of the outdoor venue. Visual connectivity to the city is provided through a series of openings between structures providing vignettes to the city from the concourse. Glass is used extensively on the upper levels allowing patrons on this level the same visual connection to the downtown experience that will be the CWS 2011.

The stadium’s stylized contemporary architecture responds with richly-stated brick at the street level with a mixture of clear and translucent glass. A symbolic metal “halo” canopy provides shade for spectators throughout the day.

TD Ameritrade Ballpark Omaha facts:

  • Approximately 9,000 parking spaces available within a 12-minute walk
  • Outfield bullpen allows for seats closer to the field
  • A 360-degree open concourse allowing fans to stay connected to the action on the field from anywhere in the stadium
  • High-resolution television monitors near every concession stand
  • Microphone in pitcher’s mound captures actions and sounds from pitcher
  • Seats have increased width and depth for greater comfort
  • 30 luxury suites and club seating for 2,500 members
  • Unique arrival entrances at each of four corners of the stadium
  • Team clubhouses

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About Populous
Since inception in 1983, Populous has grown into the world’s leading design firm dedicated exclusively to creating environments that draw people and communities together for unforgettable experiences. The firm has completed more than 1,000 projects around the globe with construction value exceeding $20 billion. Populous has worked with 24 Major League Baseball franchises, 30 NFL franchises, 80 professional and civic arena clients, 40 global soccer and rugby teams, 120 universities, 40 convention center clients, 29 equestrian clients and has planned more than 30 major worldwide events.

Our portfolio includes such icons as Yankee Stadium in New York; the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games main stadium; Nanjing Sports Park in China; ANZ Stadium in Australia; Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona; the new University of Minnesota football stadium and event planning for the Super Bowl and Major League Baseball All Star Game. We have received nearly 200 design awards for our work, including three national American Institute of Architect awards and countless global design awards. In addition, in 2009 and in 2010, Populous was named one of Fast Company magazine’s most innovative companies in sports and was also named the American Institute of Architects – Kansas City Chapter Firm of the Year. As Populous, we enthusiastically embrace the expertise we uniquely claim – drawing people together around teams, athletes, events, places, commerce, industry and ideas they wholeheartedly embrace and adore.

For further information please contact:
Gina Stingley at Populous
Telephone: 816 221 1500
Email: media@populous.com

About HDR Architecture
HDR is a global design firm whose projects respond to the important cultural, contextual and functional influences of more than 60 countries. Consistently ranked as one of the top architecture firms, HDR’s talented team of architects, engineers, planners and consultants is world-renowned for its award-winning designs of a full range of urban environments, campuses and buildings for clients in the healthcare, civic, justice, higher education, corporate and science + technology fields. For information, visit www.hdrinc.com.

For further information please contact:
Katie Sosnowchik
Telephone: 402 926 7080
Email: katie.sosnowchik@hdrinc.com

 

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