Architects and engineers working on the design of the 73,000-seat stadium are having difficulties with a number of issues, among them the retractable roof and roll-out field.
On the roof, the designers are challenged on how to get the giant steel supports in place without obstructing air traffic. The stadium itself will rise more than 220 feet from ground level, and much taller cranes would be needed to put them in place. But because the stadium is in the flight path of Sky Harbor International Airport, any object taller than 200 feet must be reviewed by the FAA.
The stadium will be the first in the nation and the second in the world to have a roll-out field that allows natural sunlight for grass, but that kind of design is presenting some problems. The field will sit in a tray 400 ft. long and about 184 ft. wide, which isn't wide enough to accommodate a full sideline. It was discovered that there isn't room outside for the series of interlocking pallets that will sit next to the field and serve as the sideline space, so a new solution has to be devised. That solution could involve rotating the entire stadium and lowering the floor by another 14 feet.
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