It’s getting real, as the Amarillo Local Government Corporation was presented with a series of Amarillo ballpark concepts for the facility set to open in 2019 as home to the relocating San Antonio Missions (Class AA; Texas League).
As noted, these are concepts, not working drawings or final renderings. Still, with four recommended options (the top image and the first three below this text), Amarillo Local Government Corporation members could get a pretty good idea of the direction of the design from Kansas City-based Populous, as well as the relationship of the ballpark to the surrounding area. Corporation members decided to move forward with the top three and eliminated option #4 from consideration; they weren’t thrilled with the notion of a single tower. Too asymmetrical. From Amarillo.com:
City staff also gave the LGC an inside look into their key concepts for the ballpark, which include ensuring that people driving or walking down Buchanan Street have a view into the stadium and that those attending games have a “sitting in the field” experience regardless of where their seats are located.
“Typically in contemporary baseball stadiums, if you walk in what you’ll do is you’ll see that the field is lower than the ground level, so that is the sunken field,” [Deputy City Manager Bob] Cowell said about the plans. “The advantage of that, from just a spectator standpoint, is when you walk in and when you sit you feel like you’re on top of the stadium and the views are better. It’s more complicated to do that here because we’re below the grade for storm water.”
Cowell said the city is currently looking at ways to provide the “sunken field” while addressing the drainage issue.
The next step: presenting concepts to the Amarillo City Council in the next few weeks, which should open the process to public comment.
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