
DATE: Wednesday, August 20, 1997            TAG: 9708200622

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RALJON, MD.                       LENGTH:   86 lines

A PEEK AT A PALACE WITH THE SKINS' HOME OPENER 3 1/2 WEEKS AWAY, THE ACTION IS FRANTIC.

``Be careful going around corners,'' Jeff Klein, vice president and manager of Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, warned visitors who arrived Tuesday for their first up-close look at the NFL's latest state-of-the-art arena. ``Some of these construction guys get in golf carts and don't stop.''

Indeed, traffic inside the soon-to-open, 70-something-thousand-seat stadium resembled the start of the Indianapolis 500. Golf carts zoomed around the corners of the huge concrete ramps Washington Redskins fans will take to their seats starting Sept. 14. Outside the stadium, trucks, forklifts and anything you can imagine with wheels zipped through freshly lined parking lots, with not a minute to waste before the curtain rises.

``I don't know how far ahead of schedule we are,'' Klein said at one point. ``All I know is that we have a game on Sept. 14, and everything better be ready by then.''

That doesn't seem to be a problem. Klein estimated that the stadium is 95 percent complete, and much of what isn't done involves landscaping and other cosmetic touches.

All the seats have been installed - burgundy for the stadium seats, gold for the ritzier club seats.

How many? Don't ask.

A couple of weeks ago, the Washington Times reported that the stadium actually would house 2,000 more seats than the 76,800 originally announced. Then, the Washington Post reported that the number was really just 200 more than anticipated. Either way, the Redskins aren't saying - yet.

``I really don't have an idea how many seats there are,'' Klein insisted.

One thing's for certain: Everyone seated in the first row will have a much better view of the field than they had at RFK Stadium. There, fans in the first 10 to 15 rows behind the benches had to stand to see the action. Here, the first row is elevated so that fans will be high enough to peer over the athletes.

And, they'll be closer to the field. RFK Stadium was built primarily for baseball. JKC Stadium is being built with football, soccer and concerts in mind. Only 12 feet separate the lower end-zone seats from the back of the end zone. The distance on the sides is slightly longer because of the bench area.

``We want visiting teams to come in here and think they're surrounded,'' said Todd Boyan, director of game-day personnel and operations. ``They're so much closer to the fans here than at RFK that we think they'll be awed.''

On Tuesday, workers were busy installing one of the 16-color matrix boards that will make the stadium unique in the league. Stats and other game information will appear there. When those are done, the Sony Jumbotron television screens will be installed.

On those will be shown really ``instant'' replays. The Redskins will record every play on a new hard-disk system. If they want to show the play again, all they must do is push a button.

In a unique twist, the scoreboards and matrix boards are being installed at eye level for most fans.

``The architects designed it with fan convenience in mind,'' Klein said.

The field was installed last week - sand-based bermuda. Underneath is an intricate system of plastic tubes through which flows a 50-50 mix of water and gylcol, a prime ingredient in antifreeze.

The Redskins will have a distinct home-field advantage in their locker room. Theirs measures approximately 60 by 80 feet, with a huge bathroom and room for several whirlpools and other training equipment.

The visitors' locker room is but 50 by 60, although it has room for the same amenities.

``And it has hot and cold running water,'' joked one construction worker. ``The league made sure we gave 'em that.''

In a couple of weeks, Klein and his staff plan to have a walk-through. All game-day employees - 1,500 concession workers and 800 private security and other stadium service workers - will be on hand. The big moment comes when 300 employees enter bathrooms on every level of the facility and, on command, flush the toilets simultaneously.

``We call it `The Big Flush,' '' Boyan said. ``We'll know then whether we've done a good job or whether there's still some very important work to do.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

NHAT MEYER/The Virginian-Pilot

THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT

No one is sure how many seats Jack Kent Cooke Stadium will have, but

they will be close to the action. ``We want visiting teams to come

in here and think they're surrounded,'' said Todd Boyan, director of

game-day personnel and operations.

The Redskins' locker room is roughly 60 by 80 feet, with a huge

bathroom and room for several whirlpools. The visitors' locker room

is smaller, but with the same amenities.