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.