Abstract: Major sports events are increasingly a sophisticated multi-million dollar bsuienss which is evolving year by year. Andy Stevens, author of the SportBusiness Report Stadia and Arenas: Maximising Value from Venues, examines developments in key areas.
Many of the world's most popular team sports, including soccer, American football and rugby, have traditionally been played on natural turf pitches. But maintaining this type of surface has become more demanding as stadia increase in size and versatility.
Retractable roofs, such as the one being installed at the new Wembley Stadium, are an effective but expensive solution. These allow direct sun onto the pitch and, when the roof is retracted, can provide preferable conditions for spectators and reduce the effect of shadows that affected some of the television pictures from the recent Germany 2006 FIFA World Cup.
The $US355 million Cardinals Stadium, which opens in September 2006, has both a sliding roof and a sliding pitch. The playing surface is positioned on a tray that is itself over two acres in size, but can be slid out of the building in just 45 minutes. This means that the venue floor can be used for other events when the stadium is not hosting the home games of the NFL Arizona Cardinals.
A number of groundsmen have begun experimenting with mobile lighting units that provide light at pitch level. The technology has been in development since 1999 and is still being tested. The wheeled units are remote-controlled and so far the results at venues including the City of Manchester Stadium, the Stade Louis II, Monaco and Highbury have been favourable.
Air circulation is also essential for maintaining a healthy pitch and is key consideration as more bowl-shaped venues are built in preference to stadia with open corners or ends. Ground level tunnels can be beneficial and the new Wembley Stadium has ventilation shafts at the rear of the lower tier. These incorporate louvers that can be opened and closed to regulate air flow.
The playing surface at Arsenal FC's 38,000-seat Highbury stadium was highly regarded by players and opponents alike, and has benefited from low stands with gaps in all four corners of the venue. However, the club's new 67,000-seat Emirates Stadium, which opens in August 2006, is much larger and uses a bowl configuration. The club therefore decided to install a hybrid surface that combines the benefits of artificial turf pitches (ATPs) to reinforce natural grass. Hybrid pitches consist of some 20 million artificial fibres that knitted 200 mm into the base of the pitch. The exposed fibres are 25 mm proud of the surface so that the natural grass blades intertwine to provide extra stability, with manufacturers claiming that hybrid models can sustain up to four times more wear and tear than grass.
Reference: Stevens, Andy (2006) Defending you turf. Sport Business International. July/August. Issue 115. pp45-47.
