INTRODUCTION

A sport is any form of physical activity that is performed for pleasure and the love of effort. Those
who practise sport however also seek a morale and material reward. The wish to be able to defend
oneself and to keep fit can also be a reason for practising sport. In certain sections of the society, a
sport in fact dominates our conservation more than any other subject. Sports clothes are fashionable
and certain sports are even practised for purely snobbish reasons. A sport teaches more than what is
seen on the surface. Physical benefits are obvious, as are the social benefits, it teaches team
mentality and spirit. It helps in self-realization and self-development. It can give those who are
involved a sense of self-worth and accomplishment. A sport allows for team and individual success
and failure and young athletes will learn something every time they step on to the field.

A sport also holds several lessons for the community we live in. Apart from the life-enriching and
fulfilling role of sport, it is also part of man’s common culture in that it responds to an inherent
human physical and mental desire. Sport as a culture phenomenon affecting both men’s physical and
mental aspects is essential for the development of a happy and vigorous society and for the
attainment of the individual’s psychosomatic health. Sport also has the significance of an activity
pursuing the ultimate limits of our human potential.

The tenacity of purpose that epitomizes the athlete engaging in competitive sports is a contributory
factor to the development of a vigorous, healthy society in that it enhances the nation’s interest in
sports and fills the mind and hearts of people with a grand vision and makes a deep emotional
impression. A Sport also has the following social significance, and it is one of the first and foremost
duties of the nation and the local public entitles to make an ever stronger commitment that ever in
the past to the creation and expansion of an infrastructure that will give further impetus to the
promotion of sport. Sport is a means through which the members of local communities can deepen
their exchange and thus foster a new sense of cohesion in local communities. The experience of a
sense of achievement that crowns the inhabitants’ joint efforts toward a common goal and their
pride in their region with a feeling of attachment to their locality creates a sense of belonging and
identification with the region and fosters dynamic and vigorous communities.

It also leads to a re-formation of our regional communities that are currently victim to the problem
of an erosion of human relations. Sport is thus a contributory element to the promotion of a new
sense of cohesion in our regional communities.

STADIUM AS A TOOL FOR URBAN REVITALIZATION

SPORTS COMPLEX AS A URBAN REST AND LEASURE PARK

Sport can be interpreted in a number of ways. It is sufficient to say that sports, recreation or free
time activities are now widely accepted as a fundamental element of good quality of life. They are
essential to the mental and physical well-being of human being and, in general of any present day
society. The remarkable example of such leisure park is Munich Olympic stadium. It was the winning
design by beniisch and partner for the 1972 summer Olympics, with the roof structure made up of
translucent acrylic glazing designed by otoo-frei. It not only houses the athletic stadium but also
sports hall, aquatic centre, ice-skating hall and theatre. This complex is one example of how the
nature has been integrated with the built masses. Designer was successful in creating celebration
spaces like terrace with avenues of trees and informal areas for occasional ‘happening’, lakeside
concerts, folklore displays, readings, and exhibitions spaces which are all organized and connected
by following curve of spaces created within this between these elements which still gives a passer by
a delightful walk excursions for the millions of sightseers recorded each year. (Tim Newcomb, 2012)

GUIDELINES FOR A STADIUM DESIGN

 PITCH/CENTRAL AREA
The starting point of design is the central area or playing field. Its shape, dimensions and
orientation must enable it to fulfil all the functions required of it.

 SEATING CAPACITY
Next comes the seating capacity. If the pitch is to be of variable size to cater for very
different activities then the design capacity should be stated as two figures: the number of
seats around the maximum pitch size (perhaps football or athletics) and the maximum
capacity around the smallest space user (perhaps the performers in a pop concert, or a
boxing ring). The stadium owners will have very strong views on seating capacities as these
forms the basis of their profitability calculations.

 ORIENTATION
Pitch orientation must be suitable for the events to be staged and the master plan must be
structured around this.
The orientation of the playing field will depend on the uses to which it will be put, the main
factors being:
 The hemisphere in which the stadium is located.
 The period of the year in which the designated sports will be played.
 The times of day these events will be played.
 Specific local environmental conditions such as wind directions.

SEATING FOR SPECTATORS WITH DISABILITIES

For physical disable people it recommends a minimum seat of 500mm, and a minimum
seating row depth of 760mm, these dimensions may need to be increased for ambulant
disabled people- for instance to accommodate spectators who have difficulty bending their
legs.

SAFETY
The absolutely essential requirement is to maintain a clear seat way to allow the movement
of spectators along the seat row. The minimum recommended dimension is 400mm.

COLOURS
Colours are important and can assist the management of the stadium to build colour coded
blocks into the seating pattern and match that pattern to the ticketing system. The colour of
the seat is also major factor in the ambience of the stadium when it is partially empty. An
alternative approach is to use a varied pattern of colours giving the effect of a number of
seated people.

CIRCULATION
Circulation planning in stadium design has two main objects: the comfort and the safety of
occupants.

COMFORT
People should be able to find their way to their way to their seats (or to toilets or catering
facilities, or back to the exits) easily, without getting lost or confused.
In addition, they should be able to move about with pleasure, not being jostled in
overcrowded spaces, having to climb excessively steep stairs, or risk losing their footing as
they negotiate the many changes of level which are inevitable in large stadium.

SAFETY
Safety requires maintenance of all the above desirable characteristics in panic conditions –
when, for example, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of spectators are fleeing in fear of a fire,
an outbreak of violence in the crowd, or some other real or imagined danger.
Even better, preventive measures should minimize the risk of such situations arising in the
first place. This should preferably be achieved by skilful design, so that people want to go
where they have to be in the stadium and are not made to go there.

PLAYER
The players are one who perform and entertain the crowd. Every stadium must provide
adequate facilities for participants. Each sport has its own needs and requirements and
hence the requirement of players changes according to the sport. In terms of design, the
point where players and referees enter and exit the play area which ideally should be the
centreline of the stadium and are usually near the VIP boxes and press stand. This entry
should be convenient for access of administration and media.

PLAYER AREAS
Position: The main stand.
They should provide direct, protected access to the playing area and be inaccessible to the
public and the media.
Number: at least two separate team areas, but preferably four.
Minimum size: 150m sq.
Team areas should: be well ventilated with fresh air and be air conditioned and centrally
heated, have easily cleanable floors and walls of hygienic material, have non-slip floors and
be brightly lit.
Dressing rooms should have: Bench seating for at least 25 people, clothes-hanging
Facilities or lockers for at least 25 people, a refrigerator, a tactical demonstration board,
A telephone (external/internal), 1 desk, 5 chairs and 3 massage tables.
The massage or treatment area should be separated from, and immediately adjacent to, the
dressing space.
 FIRST AID AND TREATMENT ROOM
This room should be used by players, match officials, the media, VIPs and security personnel.
For the FIFA World Cup, a dedicated first aid room is required for VIPs.
POSITION:
In the dressing room area and as close to the teams dressing rooms and the playing field as
possible, with easy access to the outside entrance directly to emergency vehicles. The doors
and corridors leading to this room should be wide enough to allow access for stretchers and
wheelchairs.
(Minimum size: 50m sq.)
The room should have: an examination table, 2 portable stretchers (in addition to those at
the pitch-side), a washbasin (hot water), a low foot basin (hot water), a glass cabinet for
medicines, a locable non-glass cabinet, a treatment table and a telephone
(external/internal). The room should have walls or partitions which enable it to be divided
into two when necessary.
DOPING CONTROL AREA
Every stadium must provide a room for doping control purposes, comprising waiting room, a
working room and a washing facility, all adjoining.
POSITION: Near the teams and referees dressing rooms and inaccessible to the public and
the media. Minimum size: 36 m sq.
THE DOPE-TESTING AREA SHOULD: be well ventilated with fresh air and be air conditioned
and centrally heated.
The working room should have: a desk, 4 chairs, a washbasin and mirror, a telephone
(external/internal) and a cabinet.

CAMERA VIEWS TO BE CONSIDERED

There are many possible camera positions which can be used to create the televised
experience. The camera positions illustrated are some of those which are popular. A lighting
specification should take account of the actual camera positions to be used in order to
ensure that each camera receives sufficient light, from which good-quality video can be
created. Where required, the additional advice of an appropriate television broadcaster or a
regional television consortium can be sought.

 CONCRETE SHELL STRUCTURES

Shells are thin surface structures which are curved in one or two directions, deriving their
strength from the geometric shape rather than the thickness or firmness of the material (just
as a flimsy sheet of paper may become capable of carrying a load if correctly curved).
They include cylindrical, domed, conoid and hyperbolic shapes and offer the possibility of
very elegant roof forms. A shell as thin as 75mm or 100mm may easily span 100m.
ADVANTAGES
 Shell structures have the potential of great visual elegance.

DISADVANTAGES
