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.
Temporary facilities have become a common sight at professional sports venues, most often in the form of spectator grandstands and hospitality tents. But recently, more creative and innovative applications have been developed, and the traditional image of uncovered stands with exposed wooden bleachers and limited amenities, or of hospitality tents that are unbearable hot and humid in summer but cold and damp in winter, should now be a thing of the past.
The current generation of temporary structures offer high specifications and have evolved into a range of facilities that enable event organisers to create an event village that can encompass ticketing, food and beverage, retail, hospitality, media, back office and even complete arenas.
The Swiss company Nüssli created eleven Südkurve Deutschland temporary fan parks, which accommodated 4,000 fans and hospitality for up to 1,000 covers, during the recent Germany 2006 FIFA World Cup. In Berlin, the focal point of the 40,000 m² Adidas World of Football was the 8,600-seat Adidas Arena, a temporary 1:3 replica of the Olympiastadion. Thomas van Schaik, Head of Global Football PR for Adidas, explains that the concept was designed to open up the World Cup experience to those who were not fortunate to have a match ticket: "If you watch the World Cup Final by yourself then something has gone wrong in your life! Football is an emotion you share." So whereas 432,000 fans watched the six fixtures at the Olympiastadion, the organisers were able to accommodate 500,000 fans to the World of Football by using temporary structures. According to Thomas van Schaik, this enabled Adidas to extend its brand to a wider audience: "We thought that this specific element is typical for football. You want to share the emotions. It's for people that do have a ticket, but also those who have not".
Reference: Stevens, Andy (2006) To be or not to be - temporary or permanent structures? Sport Business International. July/August. Issue 115. pp47-48.
