dthorsonsvandem

[dthorsonsvandem]

ENTRY 1

DESIGN INNOVATION OF A SPORTS VENUE

For this week’s entry I will be looking at the design innovation for Mercedes-Benz Stadium located in Atlanta, home to the Atlanta Falcons, and Atlanta United.

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium just has that wow factor, it looks simply stunning inside and outside, and that’s without knowing what goes on inside this mammoth of a stadium. This stadium was built to some degree to help improve fan experience at games, and they have knocked it straight out of the park.

With the Oculus-Inspirated rood, futuristic exterior façade, 360-degree halo video board, stadiums aptly-named mega column and the sustainability factor, these are just some of the incredible innovations that have been designed to make this stadium one of the best in the sporting world.  

Bill Johnson, the lead designer of the stadium said, “the six-story, 360-degree halo video board is seamlessly built in, creating a way to experience content-in-the-round. This halo video board immerses fans in the game and provides a canvas for digital media to be presented in ways fans have never experienced.”(Adrian-Diaz, 2019).

Not only does it include those great designs features, it has a huge number of amenities. The stadium has 7’500 club seats, 180 luxury suites and numerous clubs and lounges. Open to all fans in the 100 Yard Club, a football field-length themed gathering and socialising area with concessions, bars and a beer garden (Stadiums of Pro Football, 2019).

Accessing any area at the stadium is easy, allowing patrons to have a smooth entry and exit. The entry level features a 360-degree concourse that stretches around the facility. It has a capacity of 71’000, and can be upped to 80���000 for special events Stadiums of Pro Football, 2019).

The designers have really thought about the fans and matchday experience when developing this masterpiece, with fans raving about the stadium. It is the first North American stadium to reach LEED Platinum certification. The stadium uses a storm drainage system that collects water from the roof and directs it into 1.1-million-gallon storm vault and a 680’000-gallon cistern (Gassel, 2020).

This stadium really is the pinacol of what the future holds for sporting venues, the designers have got it spot on with the design, and the Mercedes-Benz stadium is now up there with one of the biggest must-see venues around the world.

References:

Adrian-Diaz, B. J. (2019, February 1). Super Bowl Exclusive: 5 Cool Design Features of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Interior Design. https://www.interiordesign.net/articles/15971-super-bowl-exclusive-5-cool-design-features-of-mercedes-benz-stadium/

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Falcons football stadium - Stadiums of Pro Football. (2020). Stadiums of Pro Football - Your Ticket to Every NFL Football Stadium. https://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/stadiums/mercedes-benz-stadium/

[dthorsonsvandem]

ENTRY 2

SPORT EVENT INFRASTRUCTURE (TRANSPORT) ENHANCEMENT

When cities or countries around the world are graced with the opportunity to hold major sporting events, there are a number of things that must be made right for the event to be somewhat of a success. Getting people to and from venue/s is something that is able to make the attendees lives easier. If it is too difficult for people to be able to attend the event via driving or public transport, people will turn away from the event. For this entry I will be looking at how infrastructure enhancements are made in relation to public transport in the wake of an upcoming sport event.

Looking specifically at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, it was amazing the things that were able to get done via the use of public transport. It is important that it is at full operation, and governments are keen to ensure they can get spectators in and out of the arena/venue as efficiently as possible, and while ensuring that the rest of the city continues to function (Bowen, 2018).

For the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, public transport upgrades were put into place to help people get to the venues, now some those ‘temporary’ upgrades have been made permeant. Changes like reducing the waiting time for trains on all lines helped encourage people to take public transport, and also extending the times for when trains are running have been set in place (Bowen, 2018).

One of the major changes that help shift the focus to people taking the enhanced public transport system is that there was no venue parking, thus making public transport the more appropriate option. With these events, it provides an opportunity to see what can happen once these changes are made, and how it can affect the public in a positive or negative way.

The advantage of getting in early to develop a good transportation system, can have huge benefits, by getting an early start and collaborating with nearby cities – it may be possible to house people in nearby areas and transport them to the event, rather than building new hotels from scratch (Pellegrino & Hancock, 2010).  

On a negative point, when building all these transport systems for a major event, once the event has surpassed, the systems may not be needed anymore, and pouring so much money into them can become a burden for the country or city.

Looking at Rio De Janeiro, they put billions of dollars into upgrades and still to this day it is haunting them, hosting the 2016 Olympics cost them more than $20 billion, the city did not only just invest in infrastructure that required long-term utility but also constructed new highways and rail lines, with most of these costs going way over the intended budget of Brazil’s (Yehia, 2018).  

References:

Bowen. D. (2018, September 13). How big events can be a catalyst for better public transport. Daniel Bowen. https://www.danielbowen.com/2018/09/13/sport-public-transport

Pellegrino. G, & Hancock. H (16 February, 2010). A Lasting Legacy.Deloitte.  https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Public-Sector/dttl-ps-alastinglegacy-08082013.pdf

[dthorsonsvandem]

ENTRY 3

OLYMPIC GAMES LEGACY

This week I will be looking at the Olympic Games and the everlasting legacy it can leave behind for the host nation, in terms of exposure, tourism, social and a few key ways the games can leave a fond legacy.

The Olympic Games has the power to deliver lasting benefits which can change a community, its image and its infrastructure. The Olympic Games is just about the biggest sporting event in the world, consisting of the greatest athletes to step foot on Earth, the games mean so much for the host cities (International Olympic Committee, 2012).

Olympic legacies generally fall into a number of different categories, Economic, social, environmental, urban and sporting, also can be in a tangible or intangible form. Tangible can include transport infrastructures, which can enhance a city’s outlook and improve the general living standards, while intangible legacies can just be an increase in the nations pride, and a real ‘feel good attitude’ (International Olympic Committee, 2012).

Permanent venues, built or refurbished for the Games, can be used for sport once the Games has finished, keeping that Olympic legacy alive, an example is the 1912 Olympics held in Stockholm. The Stockholm Olympic Stadium is still in use today and has hosted a number of major sporting events since being used in the 1912 Olympics.  

When the closing ceremony is over, calling for an end to the Olympic Games, it will leave an incredible legacy for the host city, and a lasting impact. The event will stay in the minds of the people for decades, they will remember just how incredible an event like the Olympic Games is (Olympic World Library, 2019).

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also realises that the Games need to create more than just good memories from 16 days of competition. That is why Rule 2, Article 14 of the Olympic Charter states that an important role of the IOC is “to promote a positive legacy from the Olympic Games to the host cities and host countries.”

Legacy is very complex, and it may not even show till many years later.

References:

FACT SHEET - LEGACIES OF THE GAMES (2016)  

https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Factsheets-Reference-Documents/Games/Legacies/Factsheet-Legacies-of-the-Games-May-2016.pdf

International Olympic Committee (2012) Olympic Legacy

https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Olympism_in_action/Legacy/Olympic_Legacy.pdf.pdf

https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Factsheets-Reference-Documents/Games/Legacies/Factsheet-Legacies-of-the-Games-May-2016.pdf

ZOOM IN - OLYMPIC GAMES LEGACY & SUSTAINABILITY. (2019). Olympic World Library. https://library.olympics.com/default/impact-heritage-jo.aspx?_lg=en-GB

[dthorsonsvandem]

ENTRY 4

SUSTAINABILITY PRACTISE OF A SPORTS VENUE

For this week’s entry, I will be looking at the sustainability of the Sacramento Kings NBA home court, Golden 1 Center.

In October 2016, the Kings lost their opening night NBA game, but they didn’t lose the night overall. This match was the first time that the team had played in their brand new $557m Golden 1 Center (Campelli, 2018).

Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner praised the stadium as being the “gold standard” and that fellow NBA teams should follow. The Golden 1 Center was the first LEED Platinum certified indoor sports venue in the world (Campelli, 2018).

For the starting months of the NBA season, the weather can become uncomfortably hot, reaching over 30C, to help the fans in attendance, AECOM installed a displaced ventilation system, allowing them to push air from the bottom of the venue so it rises up to the nosebleed sections, allowing fans to feel comfortable no matter where they are sitting.  

The Kings have been able to deliver a world class stadium, and since the venue opened its doors till mid 2018, 1.6 million people had attended the venue, “less then 1% raised concerns about comfort and climate” said Alastair Macgregor, AECOM Vice-President (Campelli, 2018).

The Golden 1 Center is the first arena in the world to be 100% solar powered & achieve LEED Platinum designation. The stadium is using 100% clean energy, using sun power for clean and efficient energy (Golden 1 Center).

“We’re proud Golden 1 Center has become a model of sustainability for sports teams, fans and businesses around the world,” said Kings Chairman and Owner Vivek Ranadivé. “Our goal has always been to use our basketball team as a platform for good, drive meaningful change, demonstrate that awareness and innovation go hand in hand, and set an example to be thoughtful and intelligent about how we use our resources.”

The Kings have hit the nail right on the head in the development of this stadium, they have been able to increase the comfort for the people attending the event and make sure that their time inside the venue is a positive one and not an uncomfortable one.

They are starting the blue print of how a venue should develop their stadium, especially towards other indoor venues.

References: 

Center, G. (2017). Golden 1 Center Named Environmental Innovator by Green Sports Alliance | Golden 1 Center. Golden1 Center. https://www.golden1center.com/news/detail/golden-1-center-innovator-year-green-sports-alliance

Center, G. (2018). Sustainability | Golden 1 Center. Golden1 Center. https://www.golden1center.com/about/sustainability

Inside the ‘most sustainable sports venue in the world’ – Sustainability Report. (2018, April 30). The Sustainability Report. https://sustainabilityreport.com/2018/04/30/inside-the-most-sustainable-sports-venue-in-the-world/