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Coors Field Baseball Stadium Coors Field Base- ball Stadium ONTINUING A TREND BEGAN in well with a historic part of MORE THAN A DECADE AGO IN downtown Denver, an area fea- CBUFFALO, designers of pro- turing brick buildings that date fessional baseball stadiums have back to the 1800s. engendered to create not just In order to accomplish this, magnificent venues for viewing brick and masonry are promi- the game, but also architectural nent on the stadium’s façade, and structural masterpieces that along with an exposed structural enhance the community in which steel frame that supports the they are located. The new Coors main grandstand. Brick walk- Field Baseball Stadium in Den- ways leading up to the stadium, ver is one of the most magnifi- Terra Cotta tiles (with a design cent of these efforts. of the state flower, the The owner’s and architect’s columbine) on the façade, pedes- fundamental objective with trian friendly surroundings and Coors Field was to create a numerous other elements all dynamic and unique home for contribute to a design that cap- the Colorado Rockies baseball tures the essence of a historic franchise. Not only did the stadi- baseball stadium and also fits in um need to have its own special well with the visual identity of characteristics, but it had to fit- lower downtown Denver. Despite Modern Steel Construction / April 1998 The use of masonry and exposed steel helps the new baseball stadium fit in with the surrounding formerly industrial neigh- borhood. its traditional look, however, the stadium features all the modern amenities required by fans today. Coors Field sits on a four Project Team square block area in the midst of refurbished historic buildings. Structural Engineer: The locale was originally a ware- Martin/Martin, Inc., Consulting Engineers, Wheat Ridge, CO house district and in recent times the area had fallen into Architect: disrepair. Today, though, in part HOK Sports Facilities Group, Kansas City, MO due to the rejuvenating influence of the stadium, the area is filled General Contractor (joint venture): with restaurants, clubs and Mortenson/Barton Malow, Denver other businesses that thrive both in-season and out. As an added Owner: bonus, it is situated in an area Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District that provides panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains and has a Steel Fabricators: stunning, modern backdrop pro- Havens Steel (AISC Active Member) vided by downtown Denver’s Zimmerman Metals (AISC Active Member) modern office towers—all just a Zimkor Industries (AISC Active Member) mile from the stadium. Steel Erector: EXPOSED STRUCTURE LPR Erectors (AISC Associate Member) The exposed structure of Coors Field is critical in adding Steel Detailers: to the historic flavor of the Shawer-Price Modern Steel Construction / April 1998 On-site engineers participated in development of the erection scheme with the contractor and erector. In addition to traditional responsibilities, Martin/Martin integrated the input of the archi- tect and contractor into a coher- ent package that could be con- structed within a very tight schedule—despite a major design change. Because of growing interest in season tickets from fans, seating capacity was twice increased after construction had already begun. As a result, more than 5,000 seats were added. Despite these changes, the stadium opened in time for the 1995 sea- son. The finished stadium includes 50,249 seats, with field Pictured is the upper concourse grandstand frame during construction. level seating, a main concourse, an upper level concourse and a multi-level grandstand. There also is club seating (4,513 seats), 797 luxury suites, and wheel- chair areas (507 with 578 seats for companions). There also is ample space in the main and upper level concourses for fans to walk and purchase food and bev- erages, souvenirs and other mer- chandise. In addition, there is a complete children’s playground, a batting cage and other baseball oriented games, a restaurant and brewery, along with plenty of concession areas and restrooms located at various points on the concourses. ADVANTAGEOUS FEATURES Beyond the fact that the Pictured are the right field mezzanine raker frames. skeletal structure of Coors Field gives the stadium the ambiance design. The structure itself frames using gusset plates with of a true grandstand park, there includes an exposed structural rounded headed tension control are several unique technical steel frame that was erected bolts to give the appearance of aspects of the stadium’s design. from the main concourse up to “old time” riveted construction. For example, during the the grandstand. All of the The project required 8,975 tons schematic design, Martin/Martin exposed steel on the project of steel in 15,000 separate pieces evaluated the anticipated ther- underwent initial sizing for and structural bid packages mal motions of the stadium due structural optimization and then issued over 15 months included to seasonal temperature was reviewed with the architect 250 sheets of structural draw- changes. Based on this review, for size and proportion. The ings. the main concourse level was shape of the trusses in the exte- Martin/Martin, the project’s broken into 12 pieces with 13 rior frames was developed in structural engineer, worked expansion joints. Both a double concert with the architect’s over- closely with the fabricators and column scheme and a single col- all design concept for the mason- erectors in order to detail the umn scheme with slide bearings ry façade. Connection details steel in the manner most effi- were studied. The slide bearing were developed in exposed cient for the construction team. scheme was selected to reduce the amount of material and Martin/Martin performed a increase floor space availability comprehensive vibration analy- in the suites. sis of each of the unique bents Martin/Martin also designed supporting the grandstands to and detailed all steel connections consider the baseball fan’s and worked with both the archi- dynamic loading of the structure. tect and contractor to create aes- Many of the structural members, thetic and constructible details. particularly the cantilevered Truss and braced frame splices trusses at the upper concourse, and connections were detailed on were governed by limiting accel- an individual basis while typical erations at the suite boxes. Truss floor framing connections were members ranged in size from scheduled. Seated connections W14x90 to W14x211. were used at all girder-to-column The design of Coors Field pro- connections to ease erection and vides baseball fans with a mod- provide a consistent look with ern venue to watch major league the slide bearing connections at baseball games, a stadium that expansion joints. is both “user-friendly” and tradi- tional in appearance. In addi- SCHEDULE CONSIDERATIONS tion, the structure has helped The schedule for Coors Field revitalize an economically chal- also resulted in the architect lenged neighborhood. specifying that all structural steel be pre-painted with both primer and finish coats of 6 mils. This required special handling of the steel and verification that the painted surfaces met critical slip criteria. Tests also were conducted in advance of construction to assure headed shear studs could be effectively welded through both the 16 gauge decking and heavy paint to the beams and trusses. Welded connections were typical- ly seal welded to prevent future rusting of surfaces, which might not be accessible to provide full coverage while painting. Modern Steel Construction / April 1998 .
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