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How is a stadium built? |
Building a stadium isn’t that different from building any other large building. First you need millions of dollars, and then you need to find the right land and the right architect for the project. The architect and other engineers will figure out how to make the land strong enough to support the stadium. The stadium itself will be built on a frame of concrete and very strong metal beams, often made of steel. The beams will be lifted into place by big cranes that will stack them into the bowl shape of the stadium.
The architect has to consider a lot of things when designing the stadium. Companies have to be brought in to do the seating. Will there be bleachers? Will there be padded seats? Will there be seats at all? Another company will work on the athletic field if there is one. Will it be real grass? Will it be artificial turf (that’s another way of saying fake grass)? Another company will do the lighting. Another will do the plumbing. Another will make sure that birds don’t fly in during events. This can be done with nets or even with fake owls to scare them off!
The University of Phoenix Stadium is a pretty impressive example of what a stadium can be. It has a huge retractable roof that can ride up in many pieces on tracks in case it rains. The football field can actually be driven in and out of the stadium, depending on whether there is a game or a concert taking place. It’s pretty amazing!
More Than a “Green” Field
Recently, in Taiwan, work was completed on a stadium that will be powered entirely with solar energy (energy from the Sun!). It’s a huge stadium with a horseshoe-shaped roof that is covered in panels that will catch the sunlight. This environmentally friendly stadium will host the 2009 World Games, which is an event like the Olympics, but it has a lot of sports that aren’t included in the Olympics.
The designer of the Word Games Stadium is the Japanese architect Toyo Ito.
Make Your Own Stadium
A lot of work goes into building a stadium! Do you have any ideas about how you would build one? One of the first steps to building a stadium is thinking about what sports will be played there or what events will take place inside.
Think about the fields for different sports. Try drawing them on a piece of paper: a rectangular football field, a baseball diamond, and an oval track for racing. Now try drawing the stadiums around these fields. How does the shape of the field affect the stadiums’ shapes?
Feel free to get creative! You can even make a 3-D model. Try making a stadium that can host football games, baseball games and track events. What shape would that stadium be? How many different fields can you fit into a single stadium?