Monday marked the opening of an interesting new project in South Bend, where Notre Dame spent $400 million integrating one of the most iconic football venues in college with campus life and academics.
In total, three buildings were added to the exterior of Notre Dame Stadium, named Duncan, O'Neill, and Corbett Hall, respectively.
The nine-floor building to the west side of the stadium, named the Duncan Student Center, houses "recreation academic, and extracurricular spaces for Notre Dame Students, faculty, and staff," the South Bend Tribune points out. The new student center also includes meeting rooms, two floors of various recreational sports, a student media space, rock climbing wall, indoor track, career services, ballroom, and three small restaurants that will be open to the public.
O'Neil Hall, located on the south end of the stadium, will house the Department of Music and Sacred Music, with a recital hall with room for 170 people, music library and labs, featuring recording equipment. Then, on the east side, is Corbett Family hall, which will have an academic and faith focus with a large media center for academic lectures, and homes for the anthropology and psychology departments.
The only floors truly integrated with the football stadium (for game day purposes) will be floors six through nine of Corbett Family Hall, which are designated for press coverage and an outdoor seating area for games. However, it's my understanding that some of the academic meeting rooms will also overlook the stadium, which is pretty cool.
It's an interesting idea, one that tries to strengthen the bonds of students at the school by bringing them closer to one of the most iconic structures on camps - the football stadium.
Below is the announcement video that highlighted their plans for the project from a few years ago, where the $400 million project was referred to as "the most audacious building project that the University of Notre Dame has ever undertaken."
https://youtu.be/C6wxavbdd1Y