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SPORTSSaturday 30 January 2016
Levi’s Stadium set to show off innovations at Super Bow
In this photo taken with a fisheye lens, a large flag is presented during the national anthem at JOSH DUBOW the game, the designers
Levi’s Stadium before an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif. Headed to Super Bowl 50? You’ll AP Sports Writer had to create a backbone
find the interactive NFL Experience, a Super Bowl City highlighting the area’s fine food, top tech SANTA CLARA, California that could handle that kind
and cultural diversity as well as a host of other tie-in activities aimed at the million or so expected (AP) — When architects set of heavy use. The stadium
visitors. out to design a new sta- features 400 miles (640 kilo-
dium for the San Francisco meters) of fiber optic cable
(AP Photo/Eric Risberg) 49ers, they wanted a build- providing stadium-wide Wi-
ing that fit the Silicon Valley Fi capability and high defi-
region. nition video boards.
Retro was out. High-tech Lanson Nichols, a vice
and green-friendly were in. president and senior proj-
That was mostly accom- ects manager at HNTB, said
plished at the $1.3 bil- Levi’s has triple the fiber-op-
lion Levi’s Stadium when tic backbone of other NFL
it opened in mid-2014. stadiums as part of the plan
There’s the in-stadium app to “future-proof” the build-
that allows fans to watch ing. “Being in the heart of
replays, order food, and Silicon Valley it just became
learn which bathrooms a natural that this had to
have the shortest line; the be the most advanced
environmentally friendly stadium in the country
features that help the sta- just being in the middle of
dium achieve zero net en- that culture,” Nichols said.
ergy use on game days; “People expected not just
and the open-air feel that cutting edge, but bleeding
helps fans take in the Bay edge technology.”
Area. After 18 months of One of the highest priorities
mostly good reviews for in the design was making
events ranging from NFL the stadium as environ-
games to concerts to Wres- mentally friendly as pos-
tleMania, and even an sible, and that was realized
outdoor ice hockey game, when Levi’s became the
Levi’s Stadium truly arrives first American football sta-
on the big stage on Feb. dium to receive LEED Gold
7 when more than 100 mil- certification, which rates
lion Americans will watch how green it is. That was
it host the Super Bowl be- accomplished with nearly
tween Denver and Caro- 20,000 square feet (1,860
lina. “We set out to design square meters) of solar
the next generation of the panels, a 27,000-square-
NFL stadium,” said Tim Ca- foot (2,500-square-meter)
hill, a senior vice president living roof above the suites
and chief design officer at planted with native Cali-
HNTB Corporation. “That’s fornia species, 80 percent
what we’re most proud of.” of the water used coming
The stadium was originally from recycled water, and
designed to be at Candle- efficient use of electricity
stick Point, where the 49ers that allows the stadium to
played from 1971-2013. But be a net zero energy user
then the York family that on game days.
owns the team decided to The biggest flaw from the
locate it at the team’s full- first two seasons of the sta-
time facility more than 40 dium should not be an is-
miles (60 kilometers) away sue for the Super Bowl. The
in Santa Clara in the mid- 49ers had several problems
dle of Silicon Valley. with the turf at the start that
Levi’s Stadium was home led to players slipping on
to the first mobile app de- the grass and chunks of sod
signed to enhance every coming loose. The team
aspect of a fan’s stadium had to move practices this
experience, from steering summer out of the stadium
fans to their parking spots, because of those issues.
to identifying the least- But after making changes
crowded restrooms. Fans to the base of the field, the
can order food and drinks turf has mostly held up and
that can be delivered di- should be in good shape
rectly to their seats, and for the game.
watch replays from four dif- NFL field director Ed Man-
ferent camera angles on gan, working his 27th Super
their phones or tablets. Bowl, oversaw the installa-
With as many as 70,000 fans tion of a brand new field
using devices throughout this month. q
