The entry walls are also painted a deep graphite gray to match the color of raw taconite. A colorful nighttime LED show emanating from the fabric wrap, for example, mimics the Northern Lights, and the walls of the four entry gates are composed of rough, board-formed concrete with horizontal lines that evoke the geologic layers in North Shore cliffs. Those experiences can all be read in the design of Allianz Field. “We worked really hard to integrate a number of connection points for the fans here,” says Miller, who drove to northern Minnesota to observe the aurora borealis, trekked along the rocky North Shore of Lake Superior, and took in the colors and textures of the state’s taconite mines. The canopy protects fans from the elements and reduces the spill of light and noise into the neighborhood, all while creating a home-field atmosphere that’s exhilarating for fans and intimidating for visiting teams.Īt every turn, the stadium also echoes its Minnesota roots. The 19,400-seat Allianz Field borrows its continuous canopy over the seating bowl from other, larger soccer stadiums around the world. “We want fans to feel intimately connected to the game through supporters’ sections and technology.” “We’re committed to designing soccer stadiums, like Wembley Stadium in London, that become second homes for fans,” says architect Bruce Miller, AIA, a senior principal with Populous, a global design firm with a long résuméof notable sports venues, including several in the Twin Cities (see sidebar below). “We knew that if we designed the Wonderwall right,” says Minnesota United CEO Chris Wright, “the 2,900 fans in that section would lead the entire game experience.” Dubbed the Wonderwall and reserved for the team’s most passionate fans, the standing section creates a wall of sound during intense game action that deflects off the fabric enclosure and back onto the pitch. Seating is unusually close to the field (or “pitch”), placing spectators nearly on top of the action in a 360-degree seating bowl that includes a vertically angled standing section at one end. Inside the stadium, the visual drama is amplified by sound.
#Minnesota united stadium design skin#
A unique combination of fiberglass mesh and PTFE-laminated film with a prominent silver cast, the translucent skin can change in appearance from moment to moment, in all levels of light and darkness.
![minnesota united stadium design minnesota united stadium design](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/fe/da/40/feda4007765d6bbf74e8fb298398f8ae--minnesota-soccer.jpg)
Whatever time of day and from whichever direction you approach the newest Major League Soccer stadium, you can be sure the taut fabric that wraps the playing field will not disappoint. In daylight, its shimmering screen makes an equally commanding impression.
![minnesota united stadium design minnesota united stadium design](https://3771v91rpq8340a0bn4375oi-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Field.jpg)
Inside and out, Minnesota United’s new home offers fans a world-class sensory experience of Major League SoccerĪt night, Allianz Field, the new home of the Minnesota United FC, hovers above Interstate 94 like a glowing UFO.