According to the Bible, or at least Catholic Shopper.com, Christ was an avid hockey player who enjoyed mixing it up in the local youth leagues. Remember Billy; hooking Jesus is considered a sin. That’s why this recent development at Notre Dame is welcome news: The university has just announced plans to design a new 5,000-seat hockey arena to replace their current 42-year-old facility, and that it should be ready by 2011. But it’s more than just a hockey arena, according to its designers. Much more (chorus of angels here).
Architect Matt Rossetti says that the brick-and-glass structure — whose design renderings are done but have not been released — will be the “gateway to the university.”
Rossetti designed an arena whose limestone-and-brick exterior ties into Notre Dame’s Gothic style of architecture, but the large areas of glass on the east side also give it a contemporary look, said design principal Matt Rossetti. The glass wall is important because it provides gateway views into campus, Rossetti said.
“It looks like a hockey cathedral,” he said. Inside, the architect’s intent is to develop an “old-time hockey barn look.” The designer is using Michigan’s 86-year-old Yost Ice Arena and its sloping roof trusses as a model, Rossetti said.
A barn, a gateway and a cathedral? That’s an ambitious trifecta. The Lord will be closely watching your progress, and be warned: He does not appreciate delays.
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Rossetti’s Notre Dame design: Cathedral plus hockey barn [Sports Business Journal]
