In a town where football reigns supreme, it seems only natural that the venue should fully match the attitude and pace of those assembled within it. After 87 years, during which Camp Randall has become increasingly obsolete, the stadium enters the 2004 season halfway through a renovation effort aiming to reestablish it as a gridiron Xanadu. The project, now with one of its two major phases complete, will supply an additional 3,422 seats and scores of sorely needed amenities to the aging structure.

Charged with the conception and planning of the renovation, the Berners-Schober Associates architectural and engineering firm looks to alleviate some of the flow problems present in the former design. The most notable changes appear in the layout of public corridors and gate-access points on various sides.

Ultimately planners claim the changes will greatly improve access to services and seating within the complex. However, with much construction yet to commence, things will complicate before they begin to improve.

“We’re going to change from a front- and back-loaded stadium to a totally back-loaded stadium.” Associate Athletic Director Doug Beard said in a press conference Aug. 20. “But some of the things we’re doing this year are halfway done — [the] systems aren’t totally complete.”

Upon completion, patrons will enjoy access to 55 more concession stands, a few additional men’s bathrooms and a 139-percent increase in the women’s facilities. According to Chief Architect Bill Doyle, all restrooms are also being reconfigured to maximize efficiency in high traffic.

While fans on the west side of the stadium can expect relatively few changes in overall layout, the new setup will require those on the east side (including the bulk of the student section) to plan out their route of escape early if they want to avoid long waits. The grade-level exit, traditionally the main path out of the stadium for east-side ticket holders, will no longer be an available to the general public.

“The issue is we don’t have enough room at grade level,” Doyle explained. “What we want to do is have a lot of options to disperse the ground. Right now everyone just comes down and you get gridlock.”

Additionally, a new concourse on the fifth level will supplement the services already existing below the east-side grandstand. However, with the old corridor still as tactless as ever, planners expect congestion in the fifth-level concourse to prove problematic.

“One of the [things] I have a concern for this year is how people are going to utilize the fifth level,” Beard lamented. “For ’04, a lot of people are going to turn around in their seats and see the fifth level and go ‘concession stands, bathrooms, I’m headed there.’ And they’re all going to head there this season.”

During phase II of the construction, planners will redesign the old corridor — dubbed Badger Alley — into a more efficient public concourse with a starkly improved look. However, this branch of the project is not slated to begin until after the 2004 season.

The most notable improvements in general seating currently in place appear behind the south end zone. Architects took note from Kinnick Stadium in Iowa and established a bowl-style grandstand reaching down to the field. The track that previously circled the field has been removed at the south end and eventually will come out entirely.

With the massive developments in architectural crowd management since the stadium opened in 1917, fans can expect easier movement through the complex, although to what degree remains to be seen. Limitations in land to expand the facility along with the overall age of the original superstructure complicate the process of making Camp Randall into a sufficient complex for today’s football crowd. Perhaps the greatest difficulty will arise from the fans’ long-embedded familiarity with the old layout.

“We have some very educated fans,” Beard remarked. “We’re asking them again to leave a little extra time to get here. I think there’s going to a learning curve in the first few games. Anything new is going to be a challenge.”