New Orleans Saints Training Facility, New Orleans

The design and construction of the covered field for the New Orleans Saints Training Facility was a unique and arduous challenge. After visiting other covered facilities at the collegiate and NFL levels, the architect provided a design that benefited from the good and bad aspects of each of the facilities.

A multitude of requirements by the owner also added problems to be solved relative to atmosphere, safety, control, video aspects, lighting and related activities for training purposes.

Atmosphere and climate control were big issues for the owners since they wanted to have practices under different climate situations to emulate actual game conditions in different locations. This was accomplished by incorporating overhead doors and ventilation exhaust fans to simulate outside air conditions or open-air stadiums.

Also included was 200 tons of air conditioning with supplemental heat to simulate enclosed stadium conditions. However, ventilation had to be incorporated to prevent the formation of clouds and rain under certain outside atmospheric conditions.

Multiple control systems were used to accommodate situations for rainy days, hot days, cold days and normal days.

Safety for players during practice was another factor that had to be considered. Runoff, which is the area around the perimeter of the playing field, was designed so a player would have room to stop before running into a structure or wall.

A sprinkler system was installed to negate fire problems. Multiple exits had to be placed at certain intervals to provide adequate egress from the building for an emergency. Control and management of the players' activities were considered, while special windows were installed in the offices and weight training rooms adjacent to one end of the playing field building.

Four video camera platforms were also installed, one on each side of the field and one at each end zone. The end zone platforms are located 60 ft. above the playing surface and the sideline platforms are located 45 ft. above the playing surface. Lighting also became a very important aspect of design, capable of simulating daytime conditions, cloudy days or indoor stadium situations simply by the number of elements lit and their locations.

A weight training room was built at one end of the main field facility, while a storage and maintenance area was built at the opposite end. The maintenance area houses field equipment for player practices and maintenance equipment can also be stored without leaving the main building.