Hand-Drawn Blueprints of Famous MLB and NFL Stadiums
Hand-Drawn Blueprints of Famous MLB and NFL Stadiums
Okay, so these blueprints won’t let you actually build your favorite baseball or football stadium, but a pair of stadium lovers have crafted hand-drawn artistic posters of some of the nation’s top stadiums that at least make it look like you could build these venues.
And they plan to keep right on drawing.
Marvin Larson and Thomas Young started Ballpark Blueprints in 2002 after failing to find a blueprint-style poster of Fenway Park and doing the hard work themselves. The pair relaunched their business in late 2013 and have artfully crafted nine MLB stadiums and two NFL stadiums—they released the homes of Super Bowl competitors Seattle and Denver in February—with more venues on the way.
The duo does their own reconnaissance of the sites, taking photos of stadiums and then hand draws the blueprint-styled views, in what Larson calls an “incredibly time-consuming process,” for realistic blueprint-style art that includes on each print an aerial perspective, elevation view and detailed look at a special architectural feature of the building. The finished product is printed on art-quality paper rich in indigo and black ink for a “period” feel.
Ballpark Blueprints hopes to release every MLB park and NFL stadium moving forward while dabbling in major NCAA stadiums and European soccer stadiums. In the release pipeline are four more NFL venues, including Soldier Field, Lambeau Field, AT&T Stadium and Gillette Stadium and five new MLB parks. Expect Notre Dame Stadium and Ohio State’s home, among others, by fall.
Tim Newcomb covers stadiums, design and gear for Sports Illustrated. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.
