Hey guys.. I'm sure no one would complain if they built some king of partial roof that would give the fans some shade during games. I know I would personally take my family to more games as I am very hot natured and the sun definitely keeps me away sometimes. I'm sure it's all been discussed before but search didn't turn up much. Has there ever been talk of doing something like this? Of all the new stadiums going up that have roofs, no one needs one as much as we do. I know it costs money, I'm sure that's the major concern. I'm almost willing to have cardboard.
There's plenty of cheap seats in the shade, that shouldn't be keeping you away. Admittedly they are not as cheap as sideline east seats, but they are available. Endline sections 112 and 113 are usually in the shade. They aren't going to build a roof over the sideline east seats until the avg. attendance is much higher, if ever. Might be a chicken and egg argument, but don't let the sun keep you from attending games. Also last season FCDs schedule was very good, they only had ONE afternoon game during a "summer" month and I think that was May, hardly a very hot game. Lots of Sat. night games. So not sure why the sun/heat would have been an issue for your attendance in 2009.
John Wagner once explained to me why they didn't do a roof at PHP. Basically, he said that it would need to be on the west side, it would need to be very high and stretch halfway across the field in order to shade the east seats. Now usually, I generally regard Wagner's proclamations as to why they can't spend money on this or that with a certain amount of cynicism. But in this case, he's right. Time for a little geometry. Where is the sun in North Texas at 2:00 and 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon in the summertime? That's right, it's high, but it's in the western sky. If you're in the east seats, you're facing west and staring right into the sun. (This, BTW, is the reason why FCD doesn't sell very many tickets on the east side of PHP and why the Burn sold the east seats at the Cotton Bowl so cheaply.) If you want to block the sun in the western sky, what is going to do the trick? A roof over the east stands? Nope. It will do almost nothing for the sun. (It will, however, keep the rain off you a bit, but that's not generally a problem in north Texas between May and October.) Something large over the west stands? Now you're talking. The question is "How big?" At 6:00 or 7:00, not too big, because the sun's starting to get low in the sky. But at 2:00 or 3:00? That's a different story. To further drive home the point, the next time you watch a daytime game from Toyota Park or the Home Depot Center, pay attention to where the shadows are. More than likely, they will not extend to the east stands, which is the direction that the cameras are facing. As for a big roof over the west stands, that would be useful -- something like this in an early rendering of the Wizards' stadium: But then, you have to worry about things like "how much sunlight does the grass get?"
As BigSoccer's resident Architect, In approve of an rep this post. Not to mention the 7-20 million dollars it would cost to build various sizes of roof structures to accomplish said shading with very limited benefit and ROI
Just because you don't find 98 degrees hot doesn't mean others don't. Throw in a team that showed little life until near the end of the season and there you go. I definitely understand that attendance would have to rise and you are right, chicken and egg, I only wish they'd of taken this into account from the start. And to the double facepalm guy, up yours. No need to get upset, I say that with all due respect.
or girls in bikinis get a free ticket in the east sidelines section. ( let it also be noted, I considered adding that for the girls in bikinis getting a free ticket promotion there should be both an age range limit and a weight limit applied, but wisely chose not to add this )
They're not going to build one anyway because it wouldn't do crap for a western sun angle Fine, next time I'll be a dick about it and people around here know I can be a dick. You just happened to catch me in a medically induced period of "not being a dick".
He double facepalmed you because every year the PHP roof subject has been brought up and beaten. Over. And over. Again.
Are stadiums normally built in an orientation where the stands are East & West and the field runs north/south? Just curious.
Oh yeah. This is all a fond seasonal memory as I am freezing my chicken nuggets off every day. (Viva Copenhagen.... not.) As for those bikinis, it reminds me of a very pleasant song in a movie... "sun tan lotion, good for me, it gives protection, tee-hee-hee." At this point in the year, I say rev up those SUV's , bring back the sun, and warm this sucker up by about 15 degrees.
Don't ask, don't tell. I heard that Dick's Sporting Goods Park is a little....you know. Just sayin', they didn't pick the name for nothing....
Must... spread... rep... aargh. Dallas, and the entire southern US, have different problems than most places in Europe. Fighting off sun really is different than fighting off rain. He did say he looked, and this question is not in the FAQ, though perhaps it should be. Almost all stadiums are built north/south. Imagine an E/W stadium with an afternoon game, and one team is looking directly into the sun. It would be unplayable. As is being pointed out, the east side is enough of a disadvantage as it is. At A&M, they put the visiting team on the east side, with the sun in their face and 30k students behind them with the sun in their face as well. The alums and Ags get to be in the shade on the west side. Not by accident. FCD did much better on their schedule last year. They need to keep begging for all night games between late May and late September. Even the Rangers get crushed attendance-wise during their rare summer day games.
Roofs also have to have a significant projection to combat precipitation because unlike most people think, rain doesn't fall straight down.
Yup. Ninian Park (R.I.P.) in Cardiff was more like sitting in a tin shack with one wall removed than in a "stadium" with a roof.