Hypothetical North End Zone expansion...

(Note from the OP: This thread was bumped from 8/22/15!)


...would it be erector set by necessity?

We all know that the north side is where the pregame activities take place...where the team walks into the stadium, and into their locker room. And where TGBFTL does The March Down Victory Hill.

Any expansion, however limited, would need to be finished before the season opener for Tiger Stadium.

Does this mean erector set is the only way to go, because it is hands down the fastest manner of construction? Would you be prepared to accept an erector set addition as long as it had cladding to blend it in with the rest of the stadium?

Texas A&M went with erector set for half of Kyle Field because it was the fastest method of construction available. The pieces were pre-fitted, numbered, and stacked for easy and quick assembly. The Aggies did a pretty good job of cladding the erector set save for one end zone...



Obviously, that would not be acceptable here. We are proud of the unique look of our stadium, Even if all four sides look different from each other atm.

Here's an overhead rendering of Tiger Stadium and it's surroundings...



...you'll note how close North Stadium Road is to the north side of the stadium. There could be a couple of ways expansion could occur...one would involve road work, and possibly removing or reducing the ramps on the PMAC.

Another would involve building the sides as close to the sidewalk as possible, the making the center cantilever over the existing road.

An example of cantilever construction would be the renovations at Neyland Stadium...



...but on a grander scale. I'm not sure if LSU wants to be able to continue to use that as a road, or if they eventually plan on making it a pedestrian walk way...



...but in any case, if LSU wanted to avoid using erector set construction, an alternative would be to build out the addition in stages, suing concrete pour to match the current construction. The first stage would involve lengthening the sides, then completing the center after the season. The design would depend on the decision to/refusal to do road work.

As far as the look goes, this would possibly be a big bone of contention among Tiger Fans, as many fans...myself included, love the look of the North Side as it matches the original look of Tiger Stadium.



I believe though, that any expansion would wind up looking like the south end zone addition...



..which makes sense, as we'd hope the interior would match the south end zone addition as well...



Will it ever happen? Maybe, maybe not. But I don't think the west and east sides will ever have their looks updated to blend in with the rest of the stadium unless it does happen.

Your thoughts?