Madison Square Garden located in New York City, New York is the building I’d like to discuss for my second post. Madison Square Garden plays home to the New York Knicks NBA franchise, and it also hosts many other entertainment opportunities such as boxing, hockey and concerts. Designed by Charles Luckman Associates, and opening in 1968, the project costed a total of $1.1 billion dollars to construct. It is the oldest sports facility in the New York metropolitan, and the second oldest arena in the NBA for that matter. The exterior of “The Garden” looks dated with its use of concrete panels, but I think that plays a role in why this place is considered the most famous arena in sports, and the holy mecca of basketball. While walking around the exterior of the stadium and the duration of me sitting in my seats, the stadium gave off a vibe that was filled with rich history and tradition, and I just felt like I was somewhere special. The arena featured a really cool entrance, and the most unique thing about the stadium is how its sits above Pennsylvania Station. I had previously never been to an arena where when I got off the subway the arena was exactly right on top of me.

One building with truly phenomenal architecture that I have had the opportunity to visit in person multiple times is AT&T Stadium located in Arlington, Texas. Opening in 2009, and costing $1.15 billion dollars, AT&T Stadium is the home of the Dallas Cowboys. Designed by HKS Architects, this stadium displays some of the most unique, and advanced features established thus far in any sporting stadium, including features such as a retractable roof, and the largest retractable glass doors in the world. The retractable glass doors are 180 feet wide by 120 foot high, and they are located in each endzone. These glass doors were cool to me because of the natural light they allow to enter through into the stadium and onto the field, which is something that very few stadiums with a roof feature today. With an enormous main seating capacity of 80,000, and expandable to seat up to 100,000 for larger events, the stadium features a massive HD jumbotron that stretches from one 25 yard line to the other. This jumbotron allows everybody to see the action taking place on the field, regardless of where your seat is located in the stadium. Not only is AT&T Stadium an incredible venue for football, but for concerts as well. This past summer I attended the Kenny Chesney concert there and it was a great experience. The structure of this stadium, and the technology it features still blows me away every time I get the chance to visit.