Ford Field is going up next door to the new Detroit Tigersbaseball stadium, Comerica Park, which debuted this season."There'smore emphasis on fan satisfaction in the new field," says RandalSwiech, an engineer and vice president of Smith Group. "We've putmore seats along the sidelines, instead of the end zone. We've got120 suites, all different sizes and layouts. Some of them aresituated to make it feel like you're outdoors," he toldGlobeSt.com.

The suites were constructed along an exterior wall of the formerHudson's warehouse. The six-story building was incorporated intothe stadium design.The inside of the warehouse will be transformedinto offices, shops and restaurants, Swiech says.

Another major new design change, as closed football fields go,is a wide glass exterior wall, facing the Detroit skyline."Therearen't many domed stadiums that can boast a view like this one,"asserts Swiech.The idea mirrors the Comerica Park open stadium, inwhich the city skyline is fully visible past the outfieldwall."Both projects make spectators part of the downtownexperience," he says.