PANSTADIA & ARENA MANAGEMENT AUTUMN 2013
Friends Arena uses retractable seating to reconfi gure for different event types.
Sitting flexibly T
he conversion of the London Olympic stadium to multi-use is
under way, underlining once again how fl exible seating confi gurations, enabled by retractable seating, have now become part of the scene in Europe as well as in the USA, where designers seem to have been more willing to mix up the seating confi gurations of the seating bowl. The London Olympic Stadium design calls for retractable seating in the lower bowl to move over the athletics track to bring football fans closer to the pitch.
The new national rugby stadium on the outskirts of Paris and Zenit Stadium in St Petersburg will move their pitches out and seating will be moved into place across the fl at fl oor, depending on events held. The use of Veltins Arena in Germany for ice hockey and handball games shows the direction that stadiums are moving.
Europe’s most recent multi- purpose stadium is Friends Arena in Stockholm. “The main challenge with this project was to create a
80 FEATURE SEATING
multi-purpose arena for different kinds of activities in the same venue,” says Ulf Knutas at Unisport Scandinavia AB, the company that installed retractable seating manufactured by Elan Inventa.
“
The 20 row retractable platform, which we installed at the short end of the football pitch, can be used both as a standing and seating platform.
All 2,650 seats can be entirely removed to create a standing platform for approximately 5,000 spectators for the home team supporters during football tournaments. The entire tribune can be manoeuvred with electric motors and completely closed, and stored under the
”
When responding to market trends in ticket pricing, sponsorship and event hosting opportunities, it’s important to have fl exibility in the seating mix.
concrete balcony to create a space for the stage area during rock concerts.
Two concerns with retractable are sightlines and aesthetics. Can a retractable system provide the right sightlines? “Yes of course,” says Knutas. “All seats match the correct sightlines according to the Green Guide for Safety at Sportgrounds.”
The look is taken care of by installing the same seats on retractable as in the upper section, as carried out in Friends Arena. Knutas advises: “We installed in cooperation with Arena Seating all 45,000 seats and all of them are the same type, the BOXSEAT 903 ONYX.”
Arena Fonte Nova extends its capacity with temporary seating.
Arena Fonte Nova in Brazil also has a concert stage end which can be fi lled with seating for football games. The stadium works with Arena Group and Brazilian partner FAST Engenharia to increase the stadium’s standard capacity of 56,500 by 5,000 temporary grandstand seats. The retractable seats can be removed to allow concerts and other events to be hosted within the multi-purpose stadium.
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