NON-TRADITIONAL STRUCTURES
A marathon job for the Arena Group
Due to the sloping
terrain, each structure was built on a platform
Seating was provided for supporters to watch the runners cross the finish line
The Arena Group provided 60 tem- porary tower structures and 1,450 temporary tiered seats overlooking the finish-line in front of Buckingham Palace for the capital’s largest sporting event, the Virgin London Marathon, in April this year. Arena supplied all of the mile and
kilometre marker towers along the 26.2-mile route, which the 36,000 run- ners passed by from Blackheath to the finish line in St James Park. Arena Group built the markers that signified distance achieved, from the first mile to ‘800m To Go’ on the main and Red Route, totalling approximately 60 indi- vidual constructions. Regarding the set-up procedure,
Arena’s project manager Martin Clark says: “As the marathon route runs straight through the extremely busy centre of London, we needed to en- sure the build was quick and efficient with minimal disruptions to traffic and other services. This is why we executed the majority of the build just the day before the race, with a number of our experienced project managers and 62 crew members ensuring the efficient, safe installation and de-rig.” The Arena Group also provided all
of the finish line seating, which was situated along The Mall and consisted of 1,450 tiered, covered seats for sup- porters to watch runners cross the line. The towers and seating provided a platform for the marathon’s ma- jor sponsor, Virgin, to visibly display branding along the entire route. All markers were removed immedi-
ately after the last runners passed each mile point and the seating structure was removed by late afternoon – ensuring that traffic returned to normal ready for Monday morning.
GL Events’ Absolute Multi-Deck Structures at the Ryder Cup
Last year, GL Events Owen Brown erect- ed three Absolute double deck pavilions on Celtic Manor Resort’s Twenty Ten golf course at the Ryder Cup. The structures were used for The
Kidwelly private hospitality suite locat- ed above the 16th green and fairway as well as The Caerphilly private hospi- tality suite and The Conwy Club, which is a shared restaurant facility, located above the 17th green. Due to the sloping terrain, each
of the Owen Brown structures were constructed on raised platforms to guarantee guests unrivalled views of
the action on the course. Two-storey kitchen and washroom facilities were attached to the structures. Plus, for the first time, a new automatic guest lift system was installed in each structure, which will now feature in all double and triple deck projects. According to Darren Woodhouse,
events director at GL Events, the con- tinuous rain, before and during the event, made the installation more of a challenge – particularly for the staff on-site,so four crew remained at the course on standby in case there were any operational issues. ●
The two-storey Absolute pavilions allowed guests an excellent view of the course 54 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital Issue 2 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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