FEA TURE —L UXUR YS UITES /S KY BO XES
The Cabana Suite Level is a special experience. It’s not a traditional suite level setup with just a corridor lined with doors. Instead, all suites open up to a large club lounge, with the idea being to generate business-to-business networking, relationship building and other social interaction... —Jared Frank, Editor, SEATMagazine speaking about Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City.
SUITE DREAMS
What the trend will ultimately do to the hospitality suitesectoritself,issomething Noel CartyofStarena finds difficult to predict: “Years ago therewas this big push for incorporating TV screens in the back of a seat in hospitalitysuites,like youfind on aplane.But with today’s mobile technology this trend is already outdated. I, therefore, do not foresee seats with TV-screens really taking off in venues around the world.”
e sec r itself, is something y of Star “Madison SquareGardens had seats installed with
integratedITbut they continuously have problems with cabling,” Doug Oswald of American Seating Company adds. “with wireless technology this might be possible but Idon’t think it will be integratedinthe future. The futurewill followthe logic of needing aproductwith similar aesthetics from the simple seat in the bowl to the luxury seat in the suite. For the suite area this means that is becoming abig cinema chair with suites becoming very spacious and flexible.” Oswald predicts that there will definitely be ashift, but it will be moreanevolution that goes step by step.
Design Drivers According to Brian Mirakian and Adam Stover of archi- tectural firm Populous the ability to intimately engage with all the action is also something that will drive the design of the hospitality suite in the future.“Having visu- al access from within the hospitalityenvironmentis important. People want to mingle with friends and con- gregate but they also want to watch the match,”said Stover. It hasn’t, however, stopped the architects from exploring other areas in stadiums for creating hospitality suites.“With the current economic situation in North America we see clients who have a building that is 10 to 15 years old turning to us and ask us to reassess the venue,”he added. Another element Stover and Mirakian’s clients have
focused on recently is the abilityfor premiumfans to engage in an ‘up-close-and-personal’experiencewith
athletes.Club Blue at AmwayCenterfeatures roll-up doors thatlook onto the athletes’pathtothe locker
SPR IN G 20 11
room, where they’re known to give high fives and auto-
graphs.CONSOL Energy Center and the new Livestrong Sporting Park both have similar features.
. CONSOL Flexibility is another key-word that describes the
suite of the future. “It is becoming increasingly important to have unprecedented access to suites without the need of getting security involved. Suites are getting used all-year round and forvarious events which demands directaccess to the exterior,” the
architectclaims.For Mirakian and Stover the challenge is therefore to posi- tion suites as strategically as possible. On theother hand,the ambition of Philips Lighting’s
Franka Grosse is to ensure a holistic approach, incorpo- rating flexibility, sustainability, and ambiance, with new intelligent lighting solutions for which proven experi- ences in the hospitality and entertainment industry are being used. “The stadium industry has a lot of similarity with the hotel sector. It is all about guest experience and the transformation of spacefor differentevents,”Stover said.
With the introduction of intelligent LED technology
the industry has certainly changed, as Grosse outlined: “This allows us to transformspaces by offering different
ambiances.Mood creating is something that will become very important. Intelligent LED technology is also the key that will allow venues to use one location for differ- ent events, enhance brand experience, and convey their brand and sales
messages.The ambianceand mood in hospitality suites can, therefore, be changed with the flick of a button.” With different intelligent and intuitive control sys-
tems available, the technology allows for meeting almost everysingle requirement. “Tooffer future-fit lighting solutions, we have been exploring (jointly with partners) the latest needs to enable smooth and most unique lighting experiences,” stated Grosse.
Flexible in use, Flexible Offering Flexibility is something that is not restricted solely to the use of light. “Atthe Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas
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