Sport Facilities I
Author name here for Edited books
chapter
1
History and Future of Sport and Public Assembly Facilities
1
History and Future of Sport and Public Assembly Facilities
chapter
Chapter Objectives
• Understand how the Greeks and Romans used sport facilities for political and
cultural ends.
• Have a historical understanding of how sport facilities have changed to
accommodate changes in sport and spectating demands.
• Identify how sport facilities have evolved from multiuse to single-use
facilities.
• Appreciate the history behind several major sport facilities.
• Understand how facility trends have evolved over the years both in the United
States and internationally.
• Understand how and why politics, especially the Olympic movement, will
continue to influence sport facilities in the future.
Oldest Sport Facility
• What do you think is the oldest sport facility
in existence?
• Does your answer depend on your
definition of what constitutes a sport
facility?
– Is seating required?
– Do you need a playing surface?
– What if the facility is only sometimes used for
sports?
Which of the following is a sport facility?
Facilities in Ancient Times
• What do you think is the most important
sport facility of all time, and why?
• What do you think would have been the
biggest challenges associated with running
that facility?
Facilities in Ancient Times: Greece
• Olympic Stadium built in 776 B.C. was
initially a temple; later expanded to include
an altar, training facility, gymnasium,
covered running track, and the famous
Stadia.
• The Olympic Stadium in Athens was built in
331 B.C. and held 50,000 spectators. It was
used to host the 1896 Olympic Games.
• The Greeks built hippodromes (horse racing
tracks) and theaters.
Facilities in Ancient Times: Rome
• Coliseum
• Circus Maximus
• Hippodromes
Olympic Trivia
The Olympics also hosted the first MMA event. Called
pankration, the event featured wrestling, boxing,
and martial arts where competitors could use arm twisting, punching, kicking, breaking bones, and even strangulation.
Coliseum
• The Flavian Amphitheater is usually known as
the Coliseum either because of its huge size or
because a colossal statue in gilded bronze of
Nero in the guise of the Sun God originally
stood nearby.
• Started by Vespasian in 72 A.D.; inaugurated in
80 A.D. by Titus with 100 days of celebrations,
during which several thousand wild beasts and
gladiators were reputedly killed.
• The amphitheater was completed by the
emperor Domitian.
Circus Maximus
• A track used primarily for horse racing,
although it was used on occasion for hunts
or mock battles.
• Built in the 6th century B.C., the facility
could seat 300,000 fans.
• The facility was twice destroyed by fire and
on at least two occasions the stands
collapsed, killing many people.
(continued)
Circus Maximus (continued)
• There was a long barrier (spina) that ran down
the middle of the track. In addition to obelisks,
fountains, statues, and columns, there were
two temples on the spina, one with seven large
eggs and one with seven dolphins.
• At the end of each lap of the seven-lap race,
one egg and one dolphin would be removed
from each temple to keep the spectators and
the racers updated on how many laps had been
completed.
We still have a fascination with the Roman Coliseum, displayed here in the design of this
Hard Rock Café in Orlando.
Hippodromes
Romans also built hippodromes, like this one
in Caesarea, Israel, built in 25 B.C.
Facilities From the Middle Ages to the 1800s
Why do you think the church might have
frowned on building large public assembly
facilities during this time period?
Similarities of Facility Management From Ancient to Modern Times
• Controlling and moving large numbers of
people
• Managing rowdy or violent crowds
• Maintaining flexibility in multiuse venues
(gladiators and mock naval battles; basketball
and ice shows)
• Providing security and protection for VIPs
• Controlling the types of petty crime inherent
with large gatherings of people
• Keeping facilities clean and operational
Differences in Facility Management From Ancient to Modern Times
• Providing amenities for the press (interview
rooms and press boxes with Internet
access)
• Setting up TV camera platforms and TV
cable hookups
• Selling advertising space and naming rights
• Using heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning (HVAC) systems
(continued)
• Modern parking concerns for thousands of
cars and buses
• The amount of food and beverages needed
to feed over 100,000 fans at some venues
• Complying with environmental, zoning,
accessibility, and other legal issues
Differences in Facility Management From Ancient to Modern Times
(continued)
Evolution of Professional and Collegiate Facilities
• In the early 1900s college stadiums started
being built across the United States.
• Professional stadiums were being built
around the same time, but the early
versions were made of wood (which often
burned down) and later versions were made
of steel and concrete.
Growth of Professional and Collegiate Facilities
• What do you think has fueled the
phenomenal growth of new and renovated
facilities since the 1980s?
• Do you think this growth will continue in the
near future or is the building boom over?
Olympic Efforts and the Future of Sport Facilities
• The Olympic Games involve significant costs from
lobbying efforts to construction of the actual
facilities.
• Sydney spent $3.3 billion to build facilities for the Olympics.
• Athens spent over $11.6 billion.
• The estimates for Beijing were around $42 billion when all the infrastructure costs were included (roads, satellite cities) as well as building or renovating 31 facilities. This was surpassed by Russia spending almost $51 billion on the Sochi Games.
• How much should Brazil spend to host the 2016 Games?
Trends That Will Affect Future Facilities
• Technology
• Construction processes and procedures
• Broadcasting needs
• More interactive activities
• What other trends can you propose?
What do you want?
A 2012 survey of 2,000 sport fans in England examined what the
public would like to see in future sport facilities. The top answers
include:
More comfortable and spacious seating 49%
Better transportation options 32%
Better crowd modeling to help in crowd movement 32%
Better technology to show replays and different angles 30%
Safety designed standing room (European soccer) 27%
What would you want in a modern sport
facility and why?
Summary
Sport facilities have evolved over the years
and will continue to evolve as new
technologies are developed and new
revenue streams are developed.
Discussion Questions and Activities
• What was your greatest facility-related
experience?
• What was your worst facility-related
experience?
• What should be done about the significant
spending on major sport facilities, if
anything, and why?
• Using a pen and paper, draw your dream
facility of the future.