The Naval Academy hosted a citizens meeting on August 2, 2001 in order to share the goals of the planned stadium renovation, and to hear citizens concerns and desires for the renovation. The following are from notes taken by Corinne Reed-Miller during the meeting.
Goals for renovation:
Accessibility for disabled patrons
Improve appearance
site beautification
landscaping
Improve traffic flow and parking efficiency
Improve atmosphere of game
Preserve Memorial aspect of stadium
Improve home field advantage
Improve athlete recruiting
Citizen requests and comments:
Stormwater management
Control Volume
Reduce sedimentation and debris
Forested buffer
100 feet wide
large and dense
walking path included
use native plant species
Control noise pollution
No expansion of capacity
No expansion of events held
Control Light pollution
Remove stadium lights and end night games
Improve site for commuters
Security
Lighting
Shelter for bus patrons
Parking-related Issues
Reduce impervious surface
Improve Access and Egress
Increase buffers
Promote public transportation to games
Provide stacked parking
Provide stacked, underground parking
Do not build stacked parking
Reduce total number of parking spaces at Stadium
(It was noted that current zoning requires current number of parking spaces)
Citizens Advisory Forums
Provide a Citizens Advisory Committee to be involved in the decision-making process throughout design and renovation
Provide Citizen Forums at each stage of the renovation for continued feedback
Other Questions Asked and Answered:
Are there plans to expand capacity?
No. Capacity is to be maintained at 36,000. Seating in the concept drawing appears to be expanded, but this is due to meeting code requirements for seating, plus expanding disabled seating.
When is the renovation planned to begin?
There is no timeline at this point. The schedule will depend on the fundraising campaign.
