In 2005, the year the Seattle Seahawks made their run into the Super Bowl, there was a degree of controversy concerning crowd noise in the Seahawk’s home stadium, Qwest Field. The New York Giants committed 11 false start penalties during the course o####ame and allegations were made that the crowd noise was greater than what the crowd should be able to produce. Seahawks Head Coach, Mike Holmgren actually awarded the game ball for that game with the Giants to the Seattle Seahawk’s storied "12th Man", the fans in the stands.
Since 2002, when the stadium formerly known as "Seahawk Stadium" began housing the Seattle Seahawk’s home games, it has earned the reputation as the noisiest in the NFL. The previously mentioned game in 2005, a game surrounded in other controversy besides the noise level issue, caused the NFL to investigate these occurrences. The other questions concerned two seemingly poor calls that allowed the Giants to score two touchdowns late in the game. These calls allowed them to make a comeback and almost win the game (calls that the NFL later admitted should not have been made). Incidentally, Coach Holmgren drew the fire of NFL officials for making public the findings of their investigation into those bad calls. This set of circumstances led many Seahawk fans to wonder out loud about the officiating in Super Bowl XL as a form of retribution, but that’s another story…
Fast forward to the 2006 season. Wouldn’t you know it, the NFL schedulers once again had the Giants on the road to the Seahawks. The NFL announced, after Giants officials complained that they thought the Seahawks were pumping artificial noise into the stadium, that they would monitor the noise level in Qwest Field in an effort to dispel these allegations. This investigation found no wrong doing on the part of the Seahawks.
Qwest Field was designed to afford Seahawk fans some protection from the elements even though the stadium is "open air". I’m sure the architects that came up with this design were only thinking about crowd protection without a thought to the effects on noise. Once a crowd was housed in the stadium it was found the design acted to focus crowd noise on the field. Seattle, known for it’s rowdy fans anyway, suddenly found a genuine benefit from the combination of its stadium design and its fans. The Seahawks took the ball and ran with it. As seen in many venues, the electronic message board urges fans to make noise. When this happens in Qwest Field, the sound can be deafening. Opposing teams, faced with crucial offensive plays during a game are suddenly met with this incredible rise in noise. Since 2005, Seahawk officials have maintained a count on their opposition’s false start penalties and flash it on the message boards. According to one source, as of December 7th of this season, 69 false start penalties have been committed in Qwest Field since 2005, the most in the NFL.
I’ve always been fascinated with professional sports stadiums.
Being a Seahawk fan, and aware of the noise generating capability of Qwest Field, I wondered if other NFL teams that were building new stadiums had taken note.
Here is a visual walk through concerning the current state of professional football stadium design and a comparison to the more recently built stadiums:
RECENT OPEN AIR STADIUMS
Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte, North Carolina (Opened in 1996)
FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins, Hyattsville, Maryland (Opened in 1997)
Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa, Florida (Opened in 1998)
Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio *Photo taken December 16th, 2007 (Opened in 1999)
Invesco Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos, Denver, Colorado (Opened in 2001)
Lincoln Financial Field, Home of the Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Opened in 2001)
Gillette Stadium, Home of the New England Patriots, Foxborough, Massachusetts (Opened in 2002)
There are other recently built open air stadiums around the league (M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore in 1998, LP Field, Nashville in 1999, Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati in 2000, and Heinz Field, Pittsburgh in 2001) and the designs are basically the same as those pictured above. What is the common characteristic between all of these stadiums? It's the upper decks. They don't have a protective cover similar to Qwest Field. It's the cover that concentrates crowd noise as the noise bounces off.
You've seen photos of Qwest Field, here are two more newer stadiums that should feature crowd noise comparable to the Seahawks home:
Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans, Houston, Texas (Opened in 2002)
University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix, Arizona (Opened in 2007)
Both the Houston and Phoenix stadiums feature retractable roofs. Notice the non-moveable roof portions that act to reverberate crowd noise...
So what about any other new stadiums being designed or under construction? Check these out:
New Lucas Oil Stadium, future home of the Indianapolis Colts, Indianapolis, Indiana (Due to open in 2008)
New Dallas Cowboys Stadium (Due to open in 2009)
Proposed design for New Vikings Stadium, Future home of the Minnesota Vikings, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Proposed for completion in 2010-2011)
These three new stadium designs, all with retractable roofs, will also act to magnify crowd noise.
The question that begs to be asked: Have these team owners considered the in game advantage that stadiums built like this will feature? Would they admit it if they had?
There are also two new open air stadiums, one under construction in the Meadowlands Complex, New Jersey (for the New York Giants and New York Jets), and one under consideration for the San Francisco 49ers proposed to be built in Santa Clara, California, that will feature the conventional open upper deck construction.
Perhaps the 49ers (who have not yet recieved voter approval to date for commencement of construction to my knowledge) should revisit their stadium design plans. The NFC West already features a noisy dome (Edward James Stadium in St. Louis), a noisy retractable roof stadium (University of Phoenix Stadium in Phoenix) and the noisiest stadium in the NFL, Qwest Field in Seattle. It's a question of self preservation!
Qwest Field is by far my favorite stadium in sports. I love the retractable roof, and just the design of it is amazing! I figured that this kind of technology was years ahead of our time. Marvelous, that's all I can say about it.
I like the retractable roofs being used in the new stadiums. The Vikings proposed design is really sharp. I think Dallas was awarded the Super Bowl in 2011 specifically as a result of their new stadium.
Qwest Field is something when it gets down to rock and roll! My findings tend to confirm what I was thinking. Most of the stadiums being built or on the drawing board will be noisy...
There are two other communities looking at new stadiums. The San Diego Chargers have been pushing for one there. The Los Angeles region is also making plans for a new stadium (partially funded by the NFL!). The thought is if SD isn't successful, the owner may petition the league to move north to LA...
Have you been able to get up to Seattle for a game? I attended games in the old (and ugly) Kingdome and then at both Qwest Field and Safeco Field. There is no comparison. Since moving to Florida I've been able to go to Raymond James (saw the Hawks last December and it was actually hot!). I'll take Qwest Field anyday!
I had to include that photo of Cleveland Brown Stadium from this morning. Kind of makes the retractable roof very appealing. I guess the Patriot game was about the same way.
I guess that new stadium in Arizona is really something. Did you know the playing surface (natural turf) is on rollers and is moved out of the stadium to catch the rays! Kind of looks like a cash register drawer when it's outdoors. Look at the base of the picture up there, you can see the route the surface takes to get out of the stadium. Neat idea!
I've hear the new Dallas Stadium will really be something. I understand Jerry Jones wanted to keep it kind of under wraps until it was set to open, but the taxpayers were footing half the funding and there was no way Jerry could hide it.
The newest stadium designs are sweet.
Retractable roofs are mandatory in some regions.
You couldn't play ball in Phoenix, Houston or Dallas, unless you were the local team.
Still, MN's retractable design is new for a northern team. The 'sota crowd will figure out a way to keep the cost lower, I'm sure.
I guess the folks up in Minnesota are looking at a different design as well, and it has a retractable roof too. I believe they are going ahead with a new baseball stadium as well. Gonna get rid of the old HHH dome... Quite a few bucks if both happen.
Thanks for the look!
Last edited by Dwindy1 on December 16th at 4:03 PM.
dwindy yes i went some years back to the kingdome wow talk about the nose bleed section, we went up to see oregon play the huskies, on the package was the game seattle and oakland... as i said wow talk about the hike up to the seats... i thought are going to watch the game in the space needle????
Hey Dwindy,
Nice entry, very interesting. I really like it, well written and unique. The technology of Qwest Field is amazing, it'd be a nice place to visit. Funny, I don't see the greatest concrete complex ever built by man; The Colisem lol (or McAfee Coliseum). I see you're Cal Poly alumni, nice. Are you still a Giant/Niner fan now living in Florida?
Last edited by michaellipanovich89 on December 16th at 10:06 PM.
I moved to Washington back in 1987. I was both a Niner and Seahawk fan at that point, then the NFL realignment put them both in the NFC West. Eddie DeBartolo was forced out of the 49er ownership and the team went down. I was disappointed on several levels and, I'm sad to say, completely switched my allegiance to the Seahawks. In baseball its the Mariners and Giants... I used to enjoy the Raiders but old Al has gotten screwy lol!
Leave it to a Buckeye fan to like football in the snow!
I played a high school game in a driving rainstorm... I was an offensive (in more ways than one) lineman and it was so bad that we feared being drowned in the big puddles all over the field if you ended up at the bottom of a pile up! Never got to play in the snow. I can only imagine!
Did you have a nice fire in the fireplace while watching those poor guys slip slidin away?
I'm a sports fanatic living on the west coast of Florida. I'm a rare bird that moved here from the left coast a couple of years ago. I advocate an even playing field in all of life's endeavors.
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