STADIAWORLD | SPORTS VENUES 2019/20

www.stadiaworld.com SPORTS VENUES 2019/20   |   11 INTRO Which regions and constellations pose particular challenges and why? Which current projects would you highlight and for what reasons? What’s the role of sustainability for contemporary sports venue constructions? Undoubtedly, individual regions differ not least because of the respective economic strength of a city or region. From our per- spective each situation is almost always different. When fans travel to a foreign city or country and see new cities and jerseys, they want the stadium to be part of their journey or city expe- rience. Fans want short distances as well as travel times. How- ever, many stadiums are nowadays pushed to the outskirts of the cities because sport venues are too noisy for the residents, cause a lot of traffic and their operations are considered unsafe, hectic or sometimes even chaotic. So if in the future we decide to forego stadiums in city centers or integrated locations and move them to the periphery, thus we can’t complain about longer drives, a bland stadium en- vironment and a lack of pubs and restaurants close by. In a nutshell, the stadium simply has to remain an integral part of the city center and to that extent, a certain bonus needs to be introduced when planning arenas and sports venues. As I have already mentioned, we currently work on the Grün- walder Stadium in Munich and the Grotenburg Stadium in Krefeld. Both sites have the aforementioned integrated locations. It is therefore even more important to support these locations and improve them thoroughly for neces- sary current and future demands. This also applies to the intended new stadium for Hertha BSC. It must be ensured that the in agreement with Hertha assessed and preferred location for a new football stadium in the Olympic Park can be realized. Here too, the benefits of an inner-city location should be utilized and increasing use of already existing in- frastructure in terms of public transport as well as parking facilities should be made with the new construction. The term sustainability has lately been overused. Anything has been labelled sustainable and then people pretended that this was an entirely new concept. However, sustainability is not a trend. Sustainability has been and will always be relevant and important.. Sustainability is timeless. To build a stadium or an arena without ensuring long-term and thus sustainable use is in- acceptable.On the one hand,planners have to take into account that a facility is tailor-made to serve a specific purpose. On the other hand, they have to ensure that it can be used long-term and permanently. If a permanent use cannot be guaranteed and, equally important, if there is no potential for development, then this is a waste of resources. If a certain flexibility within the build- ing cannot be ensured, then the prize for this weakness will have to be paid at some point of time.And to get back to the begin- ning: All conceivable surfaces and potentials in stadiums will be utilized and marketed because value creation is very important for all parties involved. But the actual game play has to remain in the focus of attention. If you can merge this approach with a sustainable and integrated location, then you will have a result that remains feasible for many years to come. One of the biggest challenges that European clubs have to tack- le with regards to their stadiums will be from a sport manage- ment perspective the missing planning security concerning the league membership and the revenue potential. Paradoxically, a new stadium can be a real competitive disad- vantage. If the sports budget gets too tight because of redemp- tion and interest payments for the new stadium and the club is not successful things can do downhill rapidly as seen with Alemannia Aachen. Even large clubs such as the Arsenal FC can be affected by this. Following the new construction of the Emi­ rates Stadium the sports budget had to be cut back as a result of which Arsenal lost its previously almost guaranteed starting place in the UEFA Champions League. I find the “Nou Camp Nou“ fascinating. I like the blend of a very puristic stadium interior the sole purpose of which is to enable as many spectators as possible to see a Barça game and the elegant open design without a classic façade. A stadium is sustainable if it generates more use through rev- enues than costs in its entire lifecycle. Non-monetary costs in terms of the environment caused by construction work and operation should be taken into account appropriately on the cost side. To what extent these costs really play a role and whether stadiums should be used as trailblazers in terms of environ- mental and climate protection because of their charisma or whether climate protection should rather happen where it’s more cost-effective is a different kettle of fish … Currently Qatar is an interesting topic where the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor that we planned for the Football World Cup 2022 is being built. The issue in the Middle East is not just to build stadiums but to also encourage people to actually come and see the games. Apart from the stadiums, traffic structures, ho- tels, offices, flats and the accompanying infrastructure are also needed in this region. We have already prepared some special concepts for Qatar in the past. Our main intention is to leave behind a place in 2022 that could be part of an existing city or a city that could be built in the future. Our – already mentioned – stadium in the Russian city of Krasnodar is, apart from the venues for the World Cup in 2018, one of the most recent stadium constructions in Russia. In close dialogue with the building owners we were able to plan and realize the building from the urban development to the smallest detail during the entire plan- ning and construction phase. The stadium is embedded in a spacious park landscape also designed by us so that in cooperation for Krasnodar a vibrant public location with charisma that reaches far beyond the city has come into existence. Sustainability is particularly important for the significance of the sports venue for the respective location. Obviously, we have to remain modest with regards to our influence as ar- chitects. We as architects cannot change the world but we are aware of the great responsibilties and refer to important developments such as physical education in schools. Before we start a project we thorougly study local conditions. The more we know about them the better. I give you an examp­ le: the environment of the stadium in Port Elisabeth, which was built for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, was not very attractive. Thanks to our work we were able to upgrade the entire district, private ventures were established, plans for further sports facilities were launched and new sports grounds created. Having worked extensively on sports venues internationally for many years, we are very aware that every country presents a unique set of considerations. There is a massive variation in economies, protocols, cultures and budgets. We find that when teams are performing well, owners want to capitalize on that success and invest further in the brand, aiming to expand their fans and supporters. Another cultural consideration is technology, its prevalence and importance to the design process. Some countries embrace emerging technologies far more readily than others. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is both impressive and iconic. We also worked on State Farm Arena, which was a complex renovation brief and has been quite successful for different reasons. State Farm’s owners have excelled at creating a strong, active and hospitable destination. It isn’t just a sports venue. It’s an entertainment experience, complete with gourmet meals,Topgolf and a barber shop. Sustainability is fundamental to everything architects do and sports venue are no different. As high-profile destinations for large groups to congregate, sports venues tend to use signif- icant resources and produce large amounts of waste. During design, our mantra is ’recycle, reuse, reduce.’ From construc- tion to operations, sustainability should be a consideration at every point.