CARDINAL STADIUM, LOUISVILLE, KY. AND GAINBRIDGE FIELDHOUSE, INDIANAPOLIS, IND. /// by SuSan bady The expansion of Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Ky., and the ren-ovation of Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., demon-strate how precast concrete components can overcome the challenges of demanding schedules and limited site access, while offering a high standard of quality. Indianapolis-based Coreslab Structures (Indianapolis) Inc. met or exceeded scheduling re-quirements for both projects and delivered structures that make a distinctive statement. Cardinal Stadium was built in 1996 with a precast concrete seat-ing bowl. With a capacity of 42,000, the stadium hosted Univer-sity of Louisville football games until the 2008 football season, after which the university developed a plan to expand and im-prove the facility. Coreslab Structures (Indianapolis) Inc. provided the components for an expanded upper deck on the east side that increased seating capacity to 55,000. This portion of the work was completed in time for the start of the 2010 football season. The most recent addition, completed in 2018, was built in the north end zone seating area and closed the end of the bowl. “The goal for the end zone was [to provide] amenities and up-grades [on par with] other college stadiums,” says Corey Greika, vice president and sales manager for Coreslab Structures (Indian-apolis) Inc. “[The university] renovated and expanded a student training center for the athletes underneath it.” Cardinal Stadium has hosted University of Louisville football games since 1998. A renovation of the original precast concrete seating bowl created additional seating, new private suites, and a new terrace. Photo: Coreslab Structures. The 2008 east upper deck expansion ties into the existing stadi-um and supporting columns and raker beams and required careful planning to ensure the structure was not compromised. The pro-ject team coordinated with stadium management to ensure con-struction activities would not disrupt football games, concerts, summer camps, or any other activities. Creating Better Views Phase 1 construction entailed tearing out the top three rows of existing seating, disassembling the rear spandrels, and installing a modified precast concrete raker on top of the existing raker to change the rise and run of the seating, which improved views of the field and the city. A wall was erected in front of the new seats to create a dividing line between the lower bowl and the new upper deck. Behind the newly modified lower precast concrete seating, the upper deck precast concrete framing bears on steel columns and steel raker beams. New stair sections as well as a ramp compliant with the Amer-icans with Disabilities Act were built behind the east side to give fans access to the seats. Some of the stair sections built as part of the north end zone addition are trapezoidal, says Greika, while others appear to float. The exterior of the new stair sections, the lower and upper bands of the ramp, and the new upper deck seat-ing area were clad with architectural precast concrete panels that match the band of architectural precast concrete around the ex-isting stairs.
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