Have you ever wondered what is involved with designing and building a Sports Stadium?
Most of us have been to see a professional football match, or possibly a concert at some point in our lives. Upon arrival, we will often find ourselves negotiating a labyrinth of walkways, tunnels stairs, and escalators as we navigate our way to our designated seating area. But have you ever stopped to think about how these stadiums come to be, and what planning is required for their conception?
The amount of planning and engineering that is required for the construction of these buildings can be astounding, and often years of planning take place before a build even begins. The design pre-concept will originate with the architects and they will collect and analyse data relating to the project brief and analysis of the site, such as parking and transportation, suitable land quality, orientation of the complex, population density, and impact on the surrounding area.
What Next?
Further to this, all intended purposes for which the stadium will be used must also be considered, as this can then change the required sports surfaces and the positioning of the audience. For example, the spectators viewing a football field compared to a tennis court would vary immensely. Some elite stadiums even have the capability to host numerous event types and have been designed with what is essentially a giant interchangeable floor. This type of functionality can be prohibitively expensive and thus, many stadiums are increasingly leaning towards being purpose-built for one or 2 types of events that use a similar sized space.
Once the pre-concept and intended uses of the facility have been finalised the next step is the concept. This is where the development of all the design details, such as construction and structural requirements are addressed. The overall aesthetic appeal must also be considered as this can often have an unexpectedly large impact on drawing a crowd. More you may also need the approval to build a stadium as a property developing company require for building new housing units.
Full design is carried out by architectural engineers, where they draw up schematics that determine the overall size and capacity of a stadium. Financially speaking, the number of attending spectators is how a stadium is predominantly maintained. For example, there is little point in building something that will never draw a crowd, be large enough to reach capacity, or even the opposite, a stadium that cannot fit enough people in. The overall capacity will also impact the points of ingress and egress as well as the structural load of thousands of people. Engineers will run crowd modelling and criteria testing to ensure the building will live up to its intended purpose.
Once all the design decisions have been made, and engineering calculations have been finalised, the next step is to order all the required equipment. This is not as simple a task as you might believe due to the huge variety of products available, with the sports surface to be used. For example, if you consider all the different types of surfaces used in all the Grand Slam Tennis events around the world. Each one is different, with unique strengths and weaknesses, which many a professional player can attest as to which they prefer, and why.
One such sports surface manufacturer is the APT Asia Pacific, and they are the producer of the surface used at the U.S Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. With their extensive experience and diverse range of products which can be used across a vast array of sports, they are an ideal company to consult. Their Australian-made products are made to endure the harshest environments, and their team of expert consultants has experience in dealing with almost every sport at the highest level.
Once this decision has been made the finalised plans can then be passed on to the commercial building contractors to finally begin the construction. The overall build process can vary in time but usually takes between 6 months and 3 years depending on the size and complexity of the actual stadium.
