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Acoustics
A lot of posters have addressed the desire to close in the gaps on the northeast and northwest corners to "prevent sound from escaping".
This subject is something I feel extremely qualified to discuss. Acoustics is one of my specialties. For the sake of simplicity lets consider two types of sonic reflections.
Direct - Bouncing off a surface at incident (like the game Pong or air hockey). An efficient reflection but mainly in one direction.
Diffused - Bouncing off a irregular surface in all directions. An inefficient reflection that goes everwhere.
Okay enough class time. The corner gaps represent less than 10% of the vertical structure as apparent from within the stadium. Yes, sound does escape but how much? If you were to measure 120dB SPL outside one gap, does that mean that we are preventing and extra 120dB from
being present on the field? Hell no! Direct reflections off of would-be sections would be around 60dB prior to propagating if the seats were empty and probably absorbed if occupied. Diffused totals would probably be below 12dB.
The more significant sonic improvment will be having more mouths yelling from those sections toward the center of the venue (ala mile high). Increasing the capacity and attendance will help greatly and the angled geometry of the East and West stands will allow greater crowd noise efficiency as there will be less shoulders to
yell over, and a sonic mirror aimed toward the action on field provided by the seats behind each Aggie. Besides don't forget the gaping hole above Kyle Field.
Filling in the gaps will not keep the sound in, it will keep the wind out. As some have said, Kyle Field needs ventilation. While TV screens are doable, closing sections might mean more heat strokes. I would much rather it be compared to a tackle box than a cauldron.
I am currently working on a canopy design to help provide shade in the upper decks. This should also allow for a more sophisticated lighting array, audio system, and add to the apparent size of the venue and the intimidation
factor. Furthermore the underside of the canopy can be treated with a curved rigid surface to act as a wave guide for amplifying crowd noise from the upper decks. These canopies can be seen at some of the most revered stadium atmospheres across the globe, though I know of none that attempt to make the most of the underside geometry.
South end zone first deck
There are also mixed feelings concerning the South end zone lower deck elevation.
The only reason for the pitch change is to accommodate the field level club. I thought this was an awesome idea so we can keep the dramatic team entrances with fans surrounding and pumping the players up as they march in.
The seating has to be pitched at a higher angle to keep the sight lines intact from the back of the section to the rear pylons without taking out 5 rows of seats which would place the first row of seats 25 ft. further away from the action. Without the field level club, the seating would be continuous but the stance of the south structure would be significantly lower. If you guys prefere that, I can try it out.
But I like the way it looks personally. I have seen to it that no seat has obstructed views, even along those walls.
I am however redoing the south endzone to be more detailed and tie in better. Bare in mind that this effort is only a week old and I am working alone. My intentions for posting this is to hone the design on what the fans want to
call home. I have heard from others that I should present this to the powers and am convinced to do so when I feel it's ready.
First of all, my utmost compliments to your work.
Second, THANK YOU for taking into account the fans and their opinions.
A few more inputs. Someone mentioned that the cantilevered overhang would need to be able to stand up to a tropical storm/hurricane. This is a major possible drawback. However, I think the wind effects could be minimized by making it encircle the entire complex (think frisbee vs a sail). While it still results in problems, it can help minimize them by allowing a stadium-wide substructure to absorb the impact of such strong winds.
Closing off the corners DOES present ventilation problems, but I think they could be minimized by going with a less closed design which allows a breeze to flow through the stadium.
Lastly, are you saying there is up to a 12 dB difference in sound volume with the sides open!?! For those not familiar with the dB scale it's logarithmic...ok, so I need to consider my audience: Aggies. roughly 3 dB equates to the sound DOUBLING! 12 dB equates to a 16x increase in sound! Offenses from opposing teams would be deafened (perhaps our defense could wear Bose Noise cancelling helmets?)!
I think a concave design is the way to go for the inner side of the overhang. Obviously, you want a surface that reflects as much sound as possible for a reasonable cost (titanium and gold aren't options!) If you want to go uber-technical, you could make it a series of smaller panels movable on a computerized system which could make slight adjustments to optimize the sound volume toward the line of scrimmage. If they can do it with solar panels, they can do it with sound panels!
Want an eco-boost? Add solar panels to the roof!
