Stadium designs

[phxinferno]

An intimate 25,ooo retractable roof stadium would be very unique in the world of soccer (and we won't have to argue over the merits of having a roof overhang), but I hope that other design aspects make the proposed stadium unique as well.

1) I hope the first row starts lower and closer to the field. Home Depot Center's first row is too high and too far away.

2) That the players enter and exit at mid-field,NOT past the end lines.

3) NO bleacher seating, except maybe in the end The Rising will be standing in the whole game (so that they can stand on the bleachers and rise above the rest:cool: )

4)That if there is a second tier, it overhangs the lower level to really make it intimate/overbearing for the opposition.


I know that Gelsenkirchen had a retractable field (its where the Cards got the idea) but was it a dome also? I think it was. That WC Stadium sat appx. 45 grand.

[phxinferno]

Click on this website of UK grounds. Check out Reading, Blackburn and Hudderfield...



http://www.footballgroundguide.co.uk/

[Palermo10]

Yes, Gelsenkirchen is a retractable roof. It was open for some games during the WC but it was closed for others. I believe it was closed for the Portugal-England game and everyone (the English) was saying how incredibly hot it was

[T_Rock]

One of the major issues is not just designing a retractable roof for a 25,000 seater, but also cooling that stadium. The stadium would be better off without a retractable roof if there is no AC going. The roof would actually serve to create an oven-type atmosphere if a major cooling system was not designed. Phoenix would have to play a majority of their games at night even with a roof and cooling simply because of the cost associated with cooling a building that size.

Not trying to be negative or anything, but if we are going-to be successful, we need to have an honest awareness of the difficulties we face. The heat issue and costs can all be overcome.

I just wanted to bring up the fact that a roof, while in theory sounds awesome, in practice it may not be the best way to go.

If the roof is more like a canopy that allows air circulation and protects the players from the sun, that may work even without the high-cost of cooling. Obviously, someone with more knowledge and an engineering degree would know a lot more then me. Just kinda spit balling ideas.

[phxinferno]

I like the red...Why didn't the Fire put in red seats?



http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/park/yfh45/sunderlandreplace.jpg

[Roundball]

Does it have to have a retractile roof? If it has a shape similar to Sunderlands they would be able to suspend trusses across the top and the pull a sunshade, similar to the fabric used at playgrounds, across it during the daygames.

A water cooling system could be incoperated on the overhangs and across the bottom of the trusses. Maybe they would be to high to do any good.

[zonametro]

I like the open-style stadium because that would mean the mls would try and change to an August-May schedule and use Arizona to play most of the winter games.

[Neutral Fan]

Do we need an indoor stadium? Yes we do. Most people here in Phoenix just will not sit out side in the summer. Misters require a lot of maintenance. They will not work when the monsoon season rolls in.

Aaron

[Etienne_72772]

I like the red...Why didn't the Fire put in red seats?



http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/park/yfh45/sunderlandreplace.jpg

Because our GM is an idiot. Bring back Wilt!

[phxinferno]

Because our GM is an idiot. Bring back Wilt!


Wasn't that the one thing Wilt was really disappointed in when Toyota Park opened?:eek:

[Peter Wilt]

Wasn't that the one thing Wilt was really disappointed in when Toyota Park opened?:eek:

In general the one area i was disappointed in was the lack of soccer and Fire branding in the stadium.

Specifically:

1) Red seats, team name in seats, Fire logo on row ends.
2) Concourse areas - wider in corners, red brick instead of cream color bricks, youth soccer jersey display (one for every club in IYSA), small, large and mega historic Illinois and US Soccer images and US Soccer and Illinois soccer memorabilia in display cases.
3) Stadium club should have been a pub/soccer museum and overlooked the field
4) Also, more roof would have been nice.

peter

[Sundevil9]

Do we need an indoor stadium? Yes we do. Most people here in Phoenix just will not sit out side in the summer. Misters require a lot of maintenance. They will not work when the monsoon season rolls in.

Aaron

No. You don't.

A vast majority of MLS games are played at night, and that was before the current TV deal which essentially takes away the lousy 4PM EDT (or 1PM PDT) Saturday games. 730PM and 8PM are the normal starting times. The sun has a lesser effect at that time. And you can design the stadium to have a higher south and western sides in order to create some artificial shade earlier.

Summer games are no more of a hardship in Phoenix than they are in Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, or DC. Where the heat and humidity can cause fans to stay at home, too.

[Sundevil9]

In general the one area i was disappointed in was the lack of soccer and Fire branding in the stadium.

Specifically:

1) Red seats, team name in seats, Fire logo on row ends.
2) Concourse areas - wider in corners, red brick instead of cream color bricks, youth soccer jersey display (one for every club in IYSA), small, large and mega historic Illinois and US Soccer images and US Soccer and Illinois soccer memorabilia in display cases.
3) Stadium club should have been a pub/soccer museum and overlooked the field
4) Also, more roof would have been nice.

peter


As always, thanks for the quick and honest response.

Do you just do a search for your name everyday? Or do you 'keep an eye' on the expansion landscape by lurking the expansion boards?

[Dills]

One of the major issues is not just designing a retractable roof for a 25,000 seater, but also cooling that stadium. The stadium would be better off without a retractable roof if there is no AC going. The roof would actually serve to create an oven-type atmosphere if a major cooling system was not designed. Phoenix would have to play a majority of their games at night even with a roof and cooling simply because of the cost associated with cooling a building that size.

Not trying to be negative or anything, but if we are going-to be successful, we need to have an honest awareness of the difficulties we face. The heat issue and costs can all be overcome.

I just wanted to bring up the fact that a roof, while in theory sounds awesome, in practice it may not be the best way to go.

If the roof is more like a canopy that allows air circulation and protects the players from the sun, that may work even without the high-cost of cooling. Obviously, someone with more knowledge and an engineering degree would know a lot more then me. Just kinda spit balling ideas.
if natural ventilation methods were used, i could see something similar (in theory) to texas stadium (and many other examples), where the majority of the seating/field is covered, but the central opening allows for warmer air to escape. at the same time, lower level openings could be created so that as the air discharges through the roof, the pressure difference would allow for cooler to enter, creating a breeze. if pools of water were placed at locations where the breeze would pass over, the evaporation in this hot/arid climate would cool the air off, and therefore cool the stadium occupants. at the same time, fine water misters could be installed to do the very same thing.

[Peter Wilt]

As always, thanks for the quick and honest response.

Do you just do a search for your name everyday? Or do you 'keep an eye' on the expansion landscape by lurking the expansion boards?

search ;-)

[gilmoreaz]

No. You don't.

A vast majority of MLS games are played at night, and that was before the current TV deal which essentially takes away the lousy 4PM EDT (or 1PM PDT) Saturday games. 730PM and 8PM are the normal starting times. The sun has a lesser effect at that time. And you can design the stadium to have a higher south and western sides in order to create some artificial shade earlier.

Summer games are no more of a hardship in Phoenix than they are in Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, or DC. Where the heat and humidity can cause fans to stay at home, too.

Excellent post Sundevil. Well done!

[phxinferno]

In general the one area i was disappointed in was the lack of soccer and Fire branding in the stadium.

Specifically:

1) Red seats, team name in seats, Fire logo on row ends.
2) Concourse areas - wider in corners, red brick instead of cream color bricks, youth soccer jersey display (one for every club in IYSA), small, large and mega historic Illinois and US Soccer images and US Soccer and Illinois soccer memorabilia in display cases.
3) Stadium club should have been a pub/soccer museum and overlooked the field
4) Also, more roof would have been nice.

peter

An honor to be quoted by Peter Wilt.;) I grew up in Whitefish Bay on Carlisle St, just off Lake Shore...I hope things are moving forward for a Milwaukee team...

[phxinferno]

There is a very interesting article in Sports Illustarted about how global warming (it does exist) could affect sports (speciifically pros) in the future. Like how the flooding of the coast lines would virtually sink all the major stadiums in Florida...

Anyway, there is an interesting piece on how sports facilities can go "green"...

[Peter Wilt]

An honor to be quoted by Peter Wilt.;) I grew up in Whitefish Bay on Carlisle St, just off Lake Shore...I hope things are moving forward for a Milwaukee team...NO WAY!?!?! I live on Carlisle (1/2 block west of Lake drive.) What was your address?

[phxinferno]

NO WAY!?!?! I live on Carlisle (1/2 block west of Lake drive.) What was your address?


613, Big Dutch Colonial. My father was the rector of Christ Church right around the corner...moved when I was 10 but remain an ardent Packers fan...