I've often wondered.....regarding the South EZ of MPS......how many seats the structural cutout (to accommodate the glass wall of the main floor multipurpose room facing the playing field, and worse, the front yard) eliminated.
In other words, had that entire EZ structure been built solely to accommodate sell-able grandstand-type seating, what would the capacity of the stadium be today.....that is, assuming the current capacity as the stadium is currently laid out is 60,000 ?? I guess I'm thinking it's something on the order of 62,000, but I'm not sure. Of course, that grandstand addition presumably would have been designed differently with a higher/steeper elevation.....hence, accommodating more seats.....had the Puskar Center not been situated there to begin with.
This many years later, I still can't imagine too many stadiums in the country cursed with more sheer wasted space (at least from a revenue-generating standpoint) than the current South EZ architectural design. I always thought it at least possible.....though perhaps something-less-than practical.....to fill in all that wasted space down to near field-level with a comparatively inexpensive metallic superstructure and seating (sort of on the order of what used to exist in the North EZ).
It would require some concrete cutting to eliminate the bulkheads surrounding the interior perimeter, but I'd initially think that's not an insurmountable design hurdle. Of course, I have no clue if the existing current South EZ infrastructure (restrooms, concession stands, etc) could accommodate the added numbers. I'd guess the answer is NO; and could be among the core reasons why this idea has never been acted upon. And adding such infrastructure might make this entire idea cost-prohibitive.
This idea also begs the question as to how much the aforementioned multi-purpose room remains in active use these days. I guess I assume it's still fairly busy on Gameday; but I'm also thinking that a fair amount of the original intentions for its use may have moved to other parts of the building over the years. But even if it remains an active space within MPS, I've never understood exactly why it is/was so important for the room to have daylight access (and the resulting view of the playing field).
In other words, had that entire EZ structure been built solely to accommodate sell-able grandstand-type seating, what would the capacity of the stadium be today.....that is, assuming the current capacity as the stadium is currently laid out is 60,000 ?? I guess I'm thinking it's something on the order of 62,000, but I'm not sure. Of course, that grandstand addition presumably would have been designed differently with a higher/steeper elevation.....hence, accommodating more seats.....had the Puskar Center not been situated there to begin with.
This many years later, I still can't imagine too many stadiums in the country cursed with more sheer wasted space (at least from a revenue-generating standpoint) than the current South EZ architectural design. I always thought it at least possible.....though perhaps something-less-than practical.....to fill in all that wasted space down to near field-level with a comparatively inexpensive metallic superstructure and seating (sort of on the order of what used to exist in the North EZ).
It would require some concrete cutting to eliminate the bulkheads surrounding the interior perimeter, but I'd initially think that's not an insurmountable design hurdle. Of course, I have no clue if the existing current South EZ infrastructure (restrooms, concession stands, etc) could accommodate the added numbers. I'd guess the answer is NO; and could be among the core reasons why this idea has never been acted upon. And adding such infrastructure might make this entire idea cost-prohibitive.
This idea also begs the question as to how much the aforementioned multi-purpose room remains in active use these days. I guess I assume it's still fairly busy on Gameday; but I'm also thinking that a fair amount of the original intentions for its use may have moved to other parts of the building over the years. But even if it remains an active space within MPS, I've never understood exactly why it is/was so important for the room to have daylight access (and the resulting view of the playing field).
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