Greeks carved stone steps into a hillside
When the Greeks carved stone steps into a hillside, they wanted to build a place for people to sit and to provide an outstanding view of the stage in the middle of the amphitheatre. More than two decades later, these concepts were always central to stadium architecture concepts, but they are still evolving towards what makes a good venue, because of an increasingly wider global presence and the need to fulfill several roles (Liao & Pitts, 2006). The Estadio Centenario was the first stadium explicitly built for the World Cup, It captured many of the big moments at the outset of the World Cup and hosted more than 50% of the 18 first games of the tournaments. It was designed by architect Juan Antonio Scasso, the stadium was typical of the moment and set a precedent for future venues. The pitch was lined by hundreds of spiral stairs, which were cast into a natural depression surrounding the pitch. Slippers were cut into the ground at the four angles for entry. This amphitheatre and style did not get in the way of the game and this marked the beginning of the new development of the modern stadium (Annett, 2012).
The first dome stadium was opened in Toronto in June 1989 to tremendous pomp and circumstance. It was the first stadium with a fully retractable roof. This stadium was conducive for all weather. This was after a famously rainy 1982 Gray Cup called Mud Bowl at the Toronto Exhibition Stadium, that the proposal for the building of a domed stadium in Toronto was conceived. The environmental conditions of the previous stadium were terrible as fans were forced to watch form concession areas as bathrooms overflowed. This helped to drive the city leaders to create a dome stadium, which would make Toronto baseball games tolerable to watch.
Around the turn of the century, there was a trend towards the building of stadiums. The seating was designed to runs across the field in a continuous loop. This configuration maximizes the seating capacity of the stadium. However, the quality of the live experience is often questionable for viewers in the top sections of the stadium who are far away from the pitch. This has prompted the building of stadiums by factoring in detailed calculations to measure sightlines in-depth and to make sure any fan is as close as possible to the action on the pitch. There is also an increase in the design of a more conventional way of seating arrangements. This mostly is on football grounds. Four sharply defined stands are clustered around the pitch, and enormous stands of one level are built to create a sense of unity among fans and provide a deafening wall of noise (Can, Lu & Gan, 2011).
It is part of a growing trend that architects have been designing methods for quantifying, calculating, and improving the atmosphere in stadiums which is an important aspect of the Populated architecture cycle. They collaborate with sound engineers for new stadiums to create a simulated model of the acoustics in the sitting arrangements, which demonstrates how the sound waves will react to different materials or structure types. In using it, they can create a tailor-made, concert-holes-inspired configuration with specially built roof panels that channel the sound back into the stadium. This builds a cacophony of noises as the chanting spreads around the stadium. They needed to create one of the noisiest and most thrilling atmospheres in a match-day because the technology is transforming the way we people watch sports.
Technology plays an important in trendsetting by creating a physical experience that matches the digital experience. Big screens, state-of-the-art sound systems, super-fast Wi-Fi access, and high-density cell coverage create a more immersive atmosphere in which fans can share moments with fans around the world inside the stadium. The futuristic gadgets around the corner are still more exciting: digital lenses, which cover the live-action in real-time, drones that deliver food and beverages right on your seat, even holograms.
These upgrades are unexpectedly costing clubs and site owners considerably. To compensate for this, modern stadiums are increasingly needed to become multiple purpose venues for a variety of events. Stadium’s which are retractable allows the grounds to host NFL, concerts, and other sporting activities during the season, enabling it to easily turn into styles without losing the consistency of the turf surface. This presents the club with additional income sources to complement its investment in high-quality facilities for its members while helping to account for the building’s incarnated electricity by increasing volume and contributing to environmentally friendly greener growth. It also brings year-round activities to entire communities with the potential to bring new opportunities.
To date, stadiums and major athletic facilities have been funded primarily by a mix of public and private funding. The portion of government support has been high historically and essentially amounts to a taxpayer’s subsidy to corporate teams or franchises that have the most economic benefits. This usually takes the form of municipal bonds, tax waivers, or loans below the market rate. But it is now more openly challenged by several new studies, which suggests that all of this work is for the benefit of local economies and their people. As a result, while the proportion of public funding is not entirely gone, it would certainly be reduced at least, and owners have to make up for it in certain other ways (Coates & Dennis, 2013). Therefore, private companies and affiliates must make further financial sacrifices to finish their building programs. This is one of the most important solutions to fund these development programs that American franchise owners have undertaken in recent years.
References
Annett J, K (2012). ‘El Desarrollo Espacial Del Estadio Moderno de Fu´tbol: El Ejemplo Ingle´s’ The spatial development of the modern football stadium: the English case. Apunts 59 (2012): 62 – 6.
Coates, K, T Dennis, N F (2013). Professional sports facilities, franchises, and urban economic development. Public Finance and Management 3: 335–57.
Can H., Lu M., Gan L., (2011). The Research on Application of Information Technology in Sports Stadiums. Physics Procedia 22: 604-609.
Liao H. & Pitts A., (2006). A Brief Historical Review of Olympic Urbanisation. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 23. Pp.1233–1255.