Stadium Central

On a recent visit to Louisville, I had the good fortune of visiting Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, the home of the University of Louisville Cardinals. This stadium, situated adjacent to the Louisville campus and only a few hundred yards from Churchill Downs, is one of the newer stadiums in the NCAA. Having opened in 1998, the stadium is already going through a renovation that is to expand the capacity from 42,000 to approximately 64,000. The success of the Cardinal football program and the enthusiasm of the fanbase motivated this change.

The stadium is situated among a host of athletic facilities for the university. Additionally, a large parking lot is adjacent to the venue, with an industrial part of the city lying beyond the lots. A unique feature to the exterior is the Cardinal Express, a set of trains on which serious tailgating likely occurs on gameday. Otherwise, the exterior is tidy but relatively nondescript.



The stadium currently is a single-tiered horseshoe configuration, but the renovations call for an extra deck to be placed on the east side of the field. Construction was underway during my visit, as can be seen in some of the pictures. For now, the clean look of the stadium is accentuated by the red chairback seats that fill the entire stadium. Louisville is proud to express the fact that their stadium is the only on-campus stadium in which all seats have backs. The red seats contrast nicely with the green FieldTurf playing surface. A sleek pressbox with luxury suites lies above the west side of the stadium, and the Howard Schnellenberger fieldhouse fronts the open north end of the stadium. It is clear that the designers were planning on future expansion of the stadium by setting the field house a good distance from the playing field. The stadium lacks any quirky features, but the venue certainly presents very good views of the playing surface and an intimidating environment for the Cardinals.

Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, University of Louisville
Visual Appeal: 7
Fan Friendly: 8
Settings and Surroundings: 4
Quirks: 5
Blend of Classic and Modern: 5
Total: 29