Recreational / Entertainment

Owner:

The New Orleans Saints

Design:

Case Design Group

Size:

132,475 Square Feet

Budget:

$9,000,000

Completion:

August, 2003

New Orleans Saints Training Facility

Woodward Design+Build was chosen for the great task of designing and constructing the New Orleans Saints Training Facitlity in Metairie, Louisiana. In particular, the Covered Field for the Training Facility was a unique and arduous challenge. After visiting other covered facilities at college and NFL levels, the desire was to provide a design which benefited from the good and bad aspects of each of those facilities. A multitude of requirements by the owner provided challenges to be solved relative to atmosphere, safety, control, video aspects, lighting and related activities for training purposes.

Lighting became a very important aspect of design from several standpoints. The lighting controls can simulate daytime conditions, cloudy days, or indoor stadium situations simply by the number of elements lit and their locations. There is an emergency lighting condition which covers loss of power for emergency egress from the building. Also incorporated into the system is a maintenance lighting program for cleaning and repair which does not use the main lighting system. All of these situations were incorporated to control costs of operations and longevity of fixture life for such a large facility. The building is 60 feet high at the eaves and 78 feet high at the center, which makes changing light bulbs no easy matter.

The fact that the complex is capable of accommodating all aspects required for a successful training camp, has allowed the annual training camps to take place at the Metairie facility, which will have a positive economic impact on the surrounding businesses. With the upgraded facility and the almost year round operations, the players will be more apt to remain in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area which will additionally have a positive effect. This facility has received both local and national attention, and has been mentioned as one of the premier practice facilities in the NFL. The facility exemplifies the New Orleans Saints commitment to excellence and takes into consideration the needs of management, players, staff, and the community.