Sports Architectures Double-Perspective

In the architecture realm, sports structures are not the initial thought when asked to bring up examples. Traditionally it would be Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye or the glass facades that have shaped the skyline of New York City. However, since antiquity, large stadiums dominated the landscape and were the focal point to large cities. With a digression during the Middle Ages, sport structures have been sprouting globally at an unprecedented rate. Over the centuries, though there has been an evolution with stadiums expanding not just on sheer physical size but on a grand urban and cultural scale. Silke Steets book "Stadium Worlds: Football, space and the built environment" "offers an international and multi-disciplinary range of perspectives on football's built environment."He explores where stadiums started, where they are currently and where they are as catalysts in developing cities political, economic and social aspects. Using Space Group's Lexington Master Plan for the University of Kentucky and Steets's book as a primary source I will be exploring the double perspective of sports structures being a location of "refuge" from society but as catalysts in urban development. Antiquity was the first era where stadiums played a large role in society. Though these structures were not the center of attention when it came to city planning, it did not strip the importance of their function. Stadia were always built and used as sporting venues, regardless of whether constructed primarily of earthen walls, wood or stone, as in antiquity; of concrete, as in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; or, like the newest arenas, of steel and glass. But throughout history they also served as battlegrounds, as gathering places for cultsas prisonsand, not least, as places of political representation. (Steets, 4) The great emperors of Rome used such venues as platforms to increase their popularity from the public. Such architectural feats in the publics eye were powerful images reflecting the power and wealth of their leader. However, at the time it was not the structure themselves that encouraged people to view various events, rather it were the spectacles hosted by the Emperor that was the sole reason for the large crowds. Soccer has grown to be the most popular sport in the world but according to sociologist Norbert Elias, soccer, or football as it is referred to throughout the rest of the world, would have not been able to exist in antiquity. In the ancient world, football would have been inconceivable: At this time the arenas of antiquity hosted gladiator fights or public executions and bloodbaths, with the warrior peoples of Greece and Rome taking great pleasure in the violence they observed from the stands (2) There was no such thing as rules or the concept of fair play, which is preached and practiced at a young age in both, contemporary America and the rest of the World. In the Greek hippodromes and Roman amphitheatres, large masses would come to celebrate events and watch sport spectacles. People gathered for organized events but the origins of large structures used for sport also had multiple uses. In this manner, stadia not only provided an architectural frame for the social assembly of athletes, spectators and sport organizers. They were also used by those who intended to present themselves to the crowds. As statesman and politicians wanted to profit from the concentration of people to impress and to influence them, stadia were also important places from the representation of

power. (37) These arenas were not only venues for pleasure, but for politics. The way seating was designed where everyone is facing a center focal point made it easy for emperors to demand the attention of the audience. They served as microclimate communities within large empires. It would have been foolish for a Roman or Greek leader not to take advantage of the architectural set-up. What was common throughout antiquity was that many emperors image are associated to large monuments. Most were not sports related but it is a testament to how a leaders image is positively influenced by large structures. For an emperor to run away from an opportunity to make a political announcement or address would have steadily led to his demise as a ruler. It was the only opportunity where a ruler such as Alexander the Great can address his citizens to spread an announcement throughout the empire quickly. Alexander the Great, in an act of political calculation, proclaimed an amnesty at the Olympic games for more than 20,000 Greeks who had been banned from their home cities and who had come to the Games and The Romansalso pronounced important news on the occasion of competitive events in their home towns; the final military victory against Macedonianswas proclaimed to the masses in the Circus Maximus in Rome. (42) This was important because, even in the early stage of stadium construction, venues were locations of refuge for the people. It is not as distinct in contemporary times, but ancient stadia provided for a mass gathering of people with basically similar interests. The world inside these stadia and that of outside were two completely different atmospheres. (50) Rome was a culture that thrives on violence. Their expansion relied on their military training and tactics taught every day to men and young boys. Therefore, in retrospect the large masses were not escaping the violence specifically, but their daily routine of chores and business. It gave the citizens the opportunity to relax and socialize with other individuals, therefore, by the virtue of their built space and the social practices came along with this space, the social dimension of ancient stadia reveals intriguing parallels to behaviors apparent in modern football stadia. (50) It is interesting to see how the concept and construction of stadiums came to a halt during the Middle Ages but never derailed when it remerged in the 18th Century. It is a reflection how a similar interest within a city can create the flooding of masses into the stadia. What Steets does not fully address is that this phenomenon is not just restricted to Professional venues around the world, but rather in The United States, the collegiate level has embraced the importance of stadia. College campuses across the country are miniature cities. Some towns lose nearly half its population when students are in recess. There is a higher sense of intimacy within the collegiate ranks, because of the diversity of people living together in dorms and houses. This is important because students are with each other all day, and cross paths on a daily basis. In addition, one of those crossed paths is attainting a football or basketball game together. There are exceptions to every situation but at the University of Kentucky, college basketball has architecturally, socially and culturally has set a new benchmark of what a college program should be. Coming off a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) National Basketball Championship in March of this year, Kentucky is idealized by many high basketball players as the University to attend

and play basketball. With the recent hiring of their new coach John Calipari in 2009, the University of Kentucky has elevated to an elite powerhouse once again. Rupp Arena is the varsity gym on campus and home to multiple sports teams including the Mens National Basketball team. It is the focus of the Lexington center, which also includes a couple hotels and shops. It has an official capacity of 23,500 people making it the largest college arena but also the largest basketball arena in the country including professional NBA venues. However, primarily a basketball structure it hosts concerts and other organized events. The NCAA Mens Basketball attendance had Kentucky ranked number 1 over all in 2010 in multiple categories. In the 15 games played at the venue, 354,046 people attended a basketball game averaging out to 23,603 people, which include media personnel. It was the highest recorded average that year. Including all home, away and neutral games, Kentucky finished at the top of the list with 755,748 people during the 2010 season. This statistic reflects the popularity of the team, the strong fan base it has across the country, and the success of the team because the higher attendance was due to the fact Kentucky is always a National contender in the March Madness tournament; signifying more games played and an increase in attendance. Syracuse finished second in the overall attendance record but was still more than 75,000 people behind Kentuckys total. In retrospect Kentucky has become a more popular and more appealing team to go watch than some NBA teams. It has to be taken into account that tickets are cheaper at the college level but the craze on campus and across the country has attracted a lot of attention and changed the culture in Lexington. In order to accommodate the growth currently going on and in the projected near future, the firm Space Group based in Norway has completed the Lexington Master Plan. Their website states: Space Group is an actor in the dynamic critical system of SPACE. Our approach to architecture and Urbanism is straightforward and effective; process oriented. An open system for change and feedback, research and development social, architectural, and programmatic. Their mission statement exists throughout the project, which incorporates Rupp Arena, a convention center, performing arts center, and school of the arts, offices, retail shops and housing over a 46-acre property. A description of the project on archdailys website says: A unique aspect that was incorporated was the distinctive compactness of the existing downtown area and its proximity to residential neighborhoods. In order to accommodate predicted future growth, Space Group conceived a strategy that mirrors the footprint of the existing downtown district and projects it along an axis in line with the Rupp Arena. A project such as the Lexington Master Plan is the new movement in sports architecture. When designing a new stadium there are a lot more variables and aspects of life that have to be taken into account in order to be successful. It cannot be just a hippodrome but rather a whole Forum, which in Rome consisted of many monumental structures that served different purposes. This blueprint serves the present and will definitely be relevant in the future. The size or monumentality of a football stadium is no longer a decisive factor. What now counts are cleverly composed architecture and a well-lit setmost essential now are their immaterial elements: sophisticated camerawork and lighting, and canned sound as a mood-enhancer. Though this is referring to stadiums, it still

is relevant and can be applied to basketball arenas. Aspects like this are what dictates the experience a fan takes away from a game experience. For sports architecture it has gotten to a point where the sheer size of the structure is the last issue addressed. Modern stadiums had little in common with the arenas of antiquity: instead of seated tiers they were surrounded by stands, which were often less steep and also, due to the presence of running tracks, at a remove from the rectangular field in the middle. However, just as in ancient arenas they, too, directed the gaze of the crowds towards the center. They also had clear demarcations between the inside and outside and separated the active participants from the spectators. (284) The unique aspect of basketball arenas is that they are more intimate between the spectator and player. Football pitches are divided by some sort of barrier such as a chain link fence or low divider always presenting some sort of separation between player and fan. Other examples of separation are Olympic stadiums that have tracks so when football matches are played in such structures there really is a gap physically and emotionally throughout the match. Being separated that far changes the emotional and social aspect of the game. It even affects the media on how they shoot the match because they are responsible to capture the essence of the game to the viewers behind a television screen. CBS Television station airs a majority of Kentucky basketball games and the spirit of the game is easily absorbed due to the non-existence of a physical barrier. Fans are literally on the same level of the court and the only barrier that separates them from the players is a couple of feet and a painted line on the floor. Steets mentions that the density of the population is a safety hazard and it is the reason Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho (Maracana Stadium) decreased its seating capacity from 150,00 people to 96,000 people. The stadium incorporated individual seating for fans instead of large tiers. Todays football stadia are highly supervised spaces. This is demonstrated by numerous surveillance cameras which observe the crowd from countless perspectives from the stands and roofs of the stadium. (287) Cameras allow security to control the crowd, and in the present, protect the players. Millions of dollars are invested in individuals to perform at a high level and the last thing an organization wants is a freak accident of someone getting hurt. In order to keep the atmosphere fun and friendly for fans many modern stadiums incorporate stores, restaurant, bars and other forms of social interaction. The refuge concept is well and alive at such experiences because it allows fans to be friendly towards each other before they begin aggressively taunting each other within the stadium. Archdaily states: Space Groups vision incorporates three unique districts The Historic Center, The RAAED and the distillery District with an emphasis that all are walk able from the central node of the Rupp Arena. Another aspect of the design methodology includes a desire to maintain walk ability and a pedestrian friendly programming scheme. This would include funneling high speed traffic into a corridor within the Central Business District, which in turn free up Main Street for public foot traffic. Foot traffic initiates a lot of the social interaction between fans before games and the art districts has a large amount of space where interaction is maximized before entering the arena. For districts to exist around an arena like Rupp there is some form of redevelopment in the urban environment. Especially in the case of the Lexington Master

Plan because Rupp was already part of a downtown area. In Timothy S. Chapins article, Sports Facilities as Urban Redevelopment Catalysts goes into depth of the double perspective mention before. Sports architecture as a refuge is not as noticeable in other countries like Iran but there are still similarities. In America people, enjoy going to baseball, football and basketball games because it entails a couple hours of relaxation, food, drinks and the best athletes in the world playing their respective sport. However, in Iran, refuge has a more militaristic aura. On April 28, 2004, roughly 2,000 female football fans attended the match that took placein the Ararat Stadium in Tehran. This was the first womens football match in an open field in the history of the Islamic Republic. (Steets, 219) The women cheered from the moment the teams entered the pitch until the final whistle. During halftime, the women began to dance and take off there scarves while listening to the music leading stadium officials to turn it off. To control this problem, the music was immediately switched off and a public announcement was piped through the stadium warning the women against inappropriate behavior: I dont want to see any ladies in the grandstand behaving in an improper manner. (221) this did not discourage the women because for 90 minutes they were free from society. They had become refugees for that short period time at the stadium. To tackle the issue of Urban Development Chapin chooses Baltimores Camden Yards and Clevelands Gateway. He states: These two projects were chosen for this study because both are widely considered to be among the most successful of the recent wave of downtown-sited sports facilities. (196) Chapin closely focuses on Camden Yards though because it is the blueprint all cities use in developing their cities. The complex, which is mostly composed of a baseball only stadium and a football only stadium, had two goals. It was to keep the Orioles in the city and attract a NFL team in moving to Baltimore. The location where the complex was desired to be put was composed of vacant buildings, warehouses unused railroads. The city had long been interested in seeing this area of the city reused and integrated into the emerging tourism and entertainment economy. The sports complex appeared to be an ideal solution. (Chapin, 197) Camden Yards would be able to draw large masses into areas that are not attractive at night. The area was avoided at all costs especially during at night and the weekends. It was hoped that new business activity would flow into the citys old retail district that the nearby neighborhoods of Pigtown and Sharp-Leadenhall would see new businesses created and new construction projects undertaken, providing employment opportunities for neighborhood residents. (197) This project rejuvenated the area as the catalyst in developing and restoring property. Without the football and baseball stadiums, the residents of Baltimore would not spend time in these dangerous areas. Safety comes in numbers and with stadiums comes large masses. These two aspects together transformed the urban landscape and culture of the city. But according to Chapin Camden Yards cannot be considered a successful urban development (201) because new development has generally not occurred in areas around Camden Yards, this is partly attributable to ongoing conflict over the use of land immediately adjacent to the two stadiums. (201) Financially it was not a success but culturally it has succeeded beyond what some people predicted. It completely changed the dynamic of the city. Large masses travel neighborhoods that were/are traditionally

dangerous to walk alone with, but it is not so much the case anymore. It brought the city a form of refuge in a bad area. The experience of Baltimore, however, indicates that district redevelopment is not guaranteed by massive investments in a sports project. (207) South Africa dealt with this urban issue for the World Cup in 2010. Many people were upset that the little money they did have were spent on sports facilities. Soccer is a popular sport in South Africa, but there are not enough people to generate consistent ticket sales to maintain the large stadiums. The football league in South Africa is nowhere capable of drawing crowds similar to the World Cup and thus the stadiums will be left to rot according to some researches. Nevertheless, it is not what the stadium did financially that will be remembered, but the affect it had globally cannot be measured by dollar signs. For a month, the whole world stopped and had its eyes on Africa. It is the first time the Global event was held on the continent. Throughout the tournament, Africa used the massive stadiums as platforms to stop racism. Similar to what took place in late antiquity in terms of leaders spreading a message to the masses. It gave Africa the opportunity to unite and put aside the turmoil-at least for a month-and violence that has given the continent a bad image. Media played an important role on how Africa was perceived throughout the world through a television screen. Steets uses Diego Maradonas lamented defeat in the World Cup to exemplify the power of media. The media showed close-ups of his face not only on the television screens at home, but also on the video cubes in the stadium, it led to an unplanned interaction between spectators in the stadium and the television viewers. (11) Just how the media displayed Maradonas failure, the media displayed the beauty and enthusiasm of the African people and culture. Interaction was created through the visual space by the cameras, putting the viewer within the architectural structure. Sports architecture sprouted oases in undeveloped areas and gave hope and promise to people whom have been thirsty for something positive in their lives. The Lexington Plan will neither have the global or national impact the World Cup did, but it will in the community. Space Group is quoted on the Archdaily website page stating: a framework for future development, not a prescribed building plan. Rather than trying to anticipate every need of tomorrow, we plan for the first expected steps, then develop a sets of rules to aid the decision making process as future needs arise. The Plan shows our hopes for the future of the district, but allows flexibility in its development concerning program recommendations. The flexibility at play ties together double perspective because it allows the possible addition of locations in an already urban developed area. Downtown Lexington is already developed structurally but the Lexington Plan will tie both ends; a smooth transition from the old to the new. Sports architecture is introduced to kids at a young age when parents sign their children to participate in various activities. From that point on, we begin to build a relationship with the space we inhabit when playing or training. There has to be a sense of functionality within all the design. The difficult art is that the functionality is not just referring to the actual arena or stadium but also the environment it inhabits. Some are at a disadvantage such as the Camden Yards and other are fortunate that some sort of urban development exists; hence the Lexington Master Plan. Though some plans never really come to full fruition, sports architecture as a catalysts for a cultural change will continue to

grow as time goes on. Economically, Sports architecture will be more successful. Even though it failed economically at Camden, it was the necessary stepping-stone to the next level. Architect Rob Sheard predicts that stadia will revert to being built increasingly in city centers. (291) this will help the economic argument (291) because by being the center it must act as other functions. The future is uncertain but there might be a point in time where stadiums will be the heart of the city. Cities will not be able exist unless it had some sort of arena or stadium. At present, there are more than 10,000 stadia around the world with a capacity of between 30,000 and 250,000 spectators (4) and at this rate sports architecture will dominate the landscape in urban America. Sports bring all forms of life together. They create communities within the cities by creating a bond for the fans.