Misplaced Pages

#849150

92-655: The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, often referred to simply as the Meyerhoff, is a music venue that opened September 16, 1982, at 1212 Cathedral Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland , United States. The main auditorium has a seating capacity of 2,443 and is home to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra . It is named for Joseph Meyerhoff , a Ukrainian-Jewish Baltimore businessman, philanthropist, and arts patron who served as president of

184-415: A cover charge if a live band is playing. Some jazz clubs host " jam sessions " after hours or on early evenings of the week. At jam sessions, both professional musicians and advanced amateurs will typically share the stage. In Japan, small live music clubs are known as live houses (ライブハウス), especially featuring rock, jazz, blues , and folk music , and have existed since the 1970s, now being found across

276-425: A dress code . The busiest nights for a nightclub are Friday and Saturday night. Most clubs or club nights cater to certain music genres , such as house music or hip hop . Many clubs have recurring club nights on different days of the week. Most club nights focus on a particular genre or sound for branding effects. A stadium is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of

368-549: A music festival . Music venues are typically either private businesses or public facilities set up by a city, state, or national government. Some music venues are also run by non-government organizations, such as music associations. Some venues only promote and hold shows of one particular genre, such as opera houses . Stadiums, on the other hand, may show rock, classical , and world music . Music venues can be categorised by size and capacity. The smallest venues, coffeeshops and tiny nightclubs have room for tens of spectators;

460-470: A string section . Large rooms were also more common in the Swing era, because at that time, jazz was popular as a dance music , so the dancers needed space to move. With the transition to 1940s-era styles like bebop and later styles such as soul jazz , small combos of musicians such as quartets and trios were mostly used, and the music became more of a music to listen to, rather than a form of dance music. As

552-488: A century the only event at the ancient Greek Olympic festival was the race that comprised one length of the stadion at Olympia , where the word "stadium" originated. Most of the stadiums with a capacity of at least 10,000 are used for association football . Other popular stadium sports include gridiron football , baseball , cricket , the various codes of rugby , field lacrosse , bandy , and bullfighting . Many large sports venues are also used for concerts. "Stadium"

644-404: A combination of the two, depending on the event or time of day. Discothèques are mainly designed for prerecorded music played by a disc jockey . Live music venues have one or more stages for the performers. Venues may be unticketed, casual entry available on the door with a cover charge , or advance tickets only. A dress code may or may not apply. At some venues, the main focus is watching

736-859: A few have even been designed to have moveable fields as part of the infrastructure. The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans is a true dome structure made of a lamellar multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of 680 feet (210 m). It is the largest fixed domed structure in the world. Even though enclosed, dome stadiums are called stadiums because they are large enough for, and designed for, what are generally considered to be outdoor sports such as athletics, American football , association football , rugby , and baseball . Those designed for what are usually indoor sports like basketball, ice hockey and volleyball are generally called arenas . Exceptions include: Different sports require different playing surfaces of various size and shape. Some stadiums are designed primarily for

828-405: A few municipally owned stadiums, which are often known by a name that is significant to their area (for example, Boston 's Fenway Park ). In recent years, some government-owned stadiums have also been subject to naming-rights agreements, with some or all of the revenue often going to the team(s) that play there. One consequence of corporate naming has been an increase in stadium name changes, when

920-596: A field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event. Although concerts, such as classical music, had been presented in them for decades, beginning in the 1960s stadiums began to be used as live venues for popular music, giving rise to the term " stadium rock ", particularly for forms of hard rock and progressive rock . The origins of stadium rock are sometimes dated to when The Beatles played Shea Stadium in New York in 1965. Also important

1012-403: A football pitch with a running track , although certain compromises must be made. The major drawback is that the stands are necessarily set back a good distance from the pitch, especially at the ends of the pitch. In the case of some smaller stadiums, there are not stands at the ends. When there are stands all the way around, the stadium takes on an oval shape. When one end is open, the stadium has

SECTION 10

#1732848710850

1104-467: A horseshoe shape. All three configurations (open, oval and horseshoe) are common, especially in the case of American college football stadiums. Rectangular stadiums are more common in Europe, especially for football where many stadiums have four often distinct and very different stands on the four sides of the stadium. These are often all of different sizes and designs and have been erected at different periods in

1196-676: A pitch envied around Ireland. Other early stadiums from this period in the UK include the Stamford Bridge stadium (opened in 1877 for the London Athletic Club ) and Anfield stadium (1884 as a venue for Everton F.C. ). In the U.S., many professional baseball teams built large stadiums mainly out of wood , with the first such venue being the South End Grounds in Boston , opened in 1871 for

1288-496: A prominent part of British , Irish , Breton , New Zealand , Canadian , South African , and Australian cultures . In many places, especially in villages, a pub is the focal point of the community. In his 17th-century diary, Samuel Pepys described the pub as "the heart of England". Most pubs focus on offering beers, ales and similar drinks. As well, pubs often sell wines, spirits , and soft drinks , meals and snacks . Pubs may be venues for pub songs and live music. During

1380-423: A publicly funded music venue is a bandstand in a municipal park; such outdoor venues typically do not charge for admission. A nightclub is a privately funded venue operated as a profit-making business; venues like these typically charge an entry fee to generate a profit. Music venues do not necessarily host live acts; disc jockeys at a discothèque or nightclub play recorded music through a PA system . Depending on

1472-508: A result, smaller clubs with small stages became practical. In the 2000s, jazz clubs may be found in the basements of larger residential buildings , in storefront locations or in the upper floors of retail businesses. They can be rather small compared to other music venues, such as rock music clubs, reflecting the intimate atmosphere of jazz shows and long-term decline in popular interest in jazz. Despite being called " clubs ", these venues are usually not exclusive. Some clubs, however, have

1564-440: A short track and field event followed by music and a fireworks display. Upon its completion the stadium was the first joint purpose-built football stadium in the world. The architect Archibald Leitch brought his experience with the construction of industrial buildings to bear on the design of functional stadiums up and down the country. His work encompassed the first 40 years of the 20th century. One of his most notable designs

1656-510: A single sport while others can accommodate different events, particularly ones with retractable seating . Stadiums built specifically for association football are common in Europe; Gaelic games stadiums, such as Croke Park , are common in Ireland, while stadiums built specifically for baseball or American football are common in the United States. The most common multiple use design combines

1748-441: A specific genre of music. A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music, although some jazz clubs primarily focus on the study and/or promotion of jazz-music. Jazz clubs are usually a type of nightclub or bar , which is licensed to sell alcoholic beverages. Jazz clubs were in large rooms in the eras of orchestral jazz and big band jazz , when bands were large and often augmented by

1840-404: A sports venue, and was the first baseball park to use steel and brick for the majority of its construction. Another influential venue was Boston 's Harvard Stadium , built in 1903 by Harvard University for its American football team and track and field program. It was the world's first stadium to use concrete-and-steel construction. In 1909, concrete-and-steel construction came to baseball with

1932-448: A stage for live music, one or more dance floor areas and a DJ booth, where a DJ plays recorded music. The upmarket nature of nightclubs can be seen in the inclusion of VIP areas in some nightclubs, for celebrities and their guests. Nightclubs are much more likely than pubs or sports bars to use bouncers to screen prospective clubgoers for entry. Some nightclub bouncers do not admit people with informal clothing or gang apparel as part of

SECTION 20

#1732848710850

2024-426: A theater. They may range from open-air amphitheaters to ornate, cathedral -like structures to simple, undecorated rooms or black box theaters . Some theaters may have a fixed performing area (in most theaters this is known as the stage ), while some theaters, such as "black box theaters", may not. For the audience, theaters may include balconies or galleries, boxes , typically considered the most prestigious area of

2116-645: Is 65 ft (20 m) wide and 35 ft (11 m) deep. To accommodate a chorus, the rear wall moves to provide an additional 12 ft (3.7 m) of space. In addition to the main auditorium, the facility includes the John Gidwitz Recital Hall, reception and meeting rooms and administrative offices. The Meyerhoff is immediately adjacent to the Cultural Center Station on the Baltimore Light Rail , and within walking distance of

2208-526: Is a theatre venue constructed specifically for opera . It consists of a stage , an orchestra pit , audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building. While some venues are constructed specifically for operas, other opera houses are part of larger performing arts centers. Indeed the term opera house itself is often used as a term of prestige for any large performing-arts center. The Teatro San Carlo in Naples , opened in 1737, introduced

2300-644: Is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium . Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music. Opera houses , bandshells, and concert halls host classical music performances, whereas public houses ("pubs"), nightclubs , and discothèques offer music in contemporary genres, such as rock , dance , country , and pop . Music venues may be either privately or publicly funded, and may charge for admission. An example of

2392-460: Is called an opera house . The theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces. The facility is traditionally organized to provide support areas for performers, the technical crew and the audience members. There are as many types of theaters as there are types of performance. Theaters may be built specifically for a certain types of productions, they may serve for more general performance needs or they may be adapted or converted for use as

2484-541: Is the Latin form of the Greek word " stadion " ( στάδιον ), a measure of length equalling the length of 600 human feet. As feet are of variable length the exact length of a stadion depends on the exact length adopted for 1 foot at a given place and time. Although in modern terms 1 stadion = 600 ft (180 m), in a given historical context it may actually signify a length up to 15% larger or smaller. The equivalent Roman measure,

2576-705: Is the Nippon Professional Baseball league of Japan, in which many of the teams are themselves named after their parent corporations. Also, many newer European football stadiums, such as the University of Bolton and Emirates Stadiums in England and Signal Iduna Park and Allianz Arena in Germany have been corporately named. This new trend in corporate naming (or renaming) is distinguishable from names of some older venues, such as Crosley Field , Wrigley Field , and

2668-608: Is the Stadium at Olympia in Greece, where the ancient Olympic Games were held from 776 BC. Initially the Games consisted of a single event, a sprint along the length of the stadium. Greek and Roman stadiums have been found in numerous ancient cities, perhaps the most famous being the Stadium of Domitian , in Rome. The excavated and refurbished ancient Panathenaic Stadium hosted attempted revivals of

2760-752: The Allianz Arena in Munich was called the FIFA World Cup Stadium, Munich during the tournament. Likewise, the same stadium will be known as the "München Arena" during the European Competitions. Similar rules affect the Imtech Arena and Veltins-Arena . This rule applies even if the stadium sponsor is an official FIFA sponsor—the Johannesburg stadium then commercially known as "Coca-Cola Park", bearing

2852-608: The National Football League or the American Football League . (To a certain extent, this continues in lower football leagues as well, with the venue now known as Charles Schwab Field Omaha being used as the home stadium of the United Football League's Omaha Nighthawks .) Along with today's single use stadiums is the trend for retro-style ballparks closer to downtown areas. Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall - Misplaced Pages Continue

2944-655: The State Center Station on the Baltimore Metro Subway . The idea of a new home for the Orchestra was first raised in 1969 by then conductor Sergiu Comissiona and executive director Joseph Leavitt. The orchestra's home at the time was the Lyric Opera House and frequent scheduling conflicts forced the musicians to rehearse in school gymnasiums and prepare for concerts in dark and cramped backstage areas of

3036-613: The Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup (of association football), during which cities often pledge to build new stadiums in order to satisfy the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or FIFA . In recent decades, to help take the burden of the massive expense of building and maintaining a stadium, many American and European sports teams have sold the rights to the name of the facility. This trend, which began in

3128-479: The stadium , had a similar length – about 185 m (607 ft) – but instead of being defined in feet was defined using the Roman standard passus to be a distance of 125 passūs (double-paces). The English use of stadium comes from the tiered infrastructure surrounding a Roman track of such length. Most dictionaries provide for both stadiums and stadia as valid English plurals. The oldest known stadium

3220-586: The 1960s stadiums began to be used as live venues for popular music, giving rise to the term " stadium rock ", particularly for forms of hard rock and progressive rock . The origins of stadium rock are sometimes dated to when the Beatles played Shea Stadium in New York in 1965. Also important was the use of large stadiums for American tours by bands in the later 1960s, such as the Rolling Stones , Grand Funk Railroad and Led Zeppelin . The tendency developed in

3312-463: The 1970s pubs provided an outlet for a number of bands, such as Kilburn and the High Roads , Dr. Feelgood , and The Kursaal Flyers , who formed a musical genre called pub rock that was a precursor to Punk music . A nightclub is an entertainment venue and bar that usually operates late into the night. A nightclub is generally distinguished from regular bars, pubs or taverns by the inclusion of

3404-591: The 1970s, but accelerated greatly in the 1990s, has led to sponsors' names being affixed to both established stadiums and new ones. In some cases, the corporate name replaces (with varying degrees of success) the name by which the venue has been known for many years. But many of the more recently built stadiums, like the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg , Germany, have never been known by a non-corporate name. The sponsorship phenomenon has since spread worldwide. There remain

3496-615: The 1980s, arena rock became dominated by glam metal bands, following the lead of Aerosmith and including Mötley Crüe , Quiet Riot , W.A.S.P. , and Ratt . Since the 1980s, rock, pop, and folk stars, including the Grateful Dead , Madonna , Britney Spears , Beyoncé , and Taylor Swift , have undertaken large-scale stadium based concert tours . A theater or playhouse is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed, or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. A theatre used for opera performances

3588-532: The 1990s. In several cases, an American football stadium has been constructed adjacent to a baseball park , to allow for the sharing of mutual parking lots and other amenities. With the rise of MLS, the construction of soccer-specific stadiums has also increased since the late 1990s to better fit the needs of that sport. In many cases, earlier baseball stadiums were constructed to fit into a particular land area or city block. This resulted in asymmetrical dimensions for many baseball fields. Yankee Stadium , for example,

3680-586: The 19th century contained between about 1,500 to 3,000 seats, examples being Brussels ' La Monnaie (after renovations, 1,700 seats), Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater (with 1,636), Warsaw 's Grand Theatre (the main auditorium with 1,841), Paris ' Palais Garnier (with 2,200), the Royal Opera House in London (with 2,268), and the Vienna State Opera (the new auditorium with 2,280). Modern opera houses of

3772-584: The 20th century such as New York 's Metropolitan Opera House (with 3,800) and the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco (with 3,146) are larger. Many operas are better suited to being presented in smaller theaters, such as Venice 's La Fenice with about 1,000 seats. In a traditional opera house, the auditorium is U-shaped, with the length of the sides determining the audience capacity. Around this are tiers of balconies, and often, nearer to

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall - Misplaced Pages Continue

3864-476: The Baltimore Symphony from 1965 to 1983. The modern style structure was designed by the architectural firms of Pietro Belluschi , Inc. and Jung/Brannen Associates . Ground was broken November 10, 1978. Acoustical design was by Bolt, Beranek and Newman and uses a series of convex curves to avoid flat surfaces or ninety-degree angles inside the hall. The auditorium is oval, its cylindrical wall extends

3956-530: The Greeks built structures called "stadium"; Romans built structures called " circus ". Greek stadia were for foot races, whereas the Roman circus was for horse races. Both had similar shapes and bowl-like areas around them for spectators. The Greeks also developed the theatre, with its seating arrangements foreshadowing those of modern stadiums. The Romans copied the theatre, then expanded it to accommodate larger crowds and more elaborate settings. The Romans also developed

4048-502: The Olympic Games in 1870 and 1875 before hosting the first modern Olympics in 1896 , the 1906 Intercalated Games , and some events of the 2004 Summer Olympics . The excavation and refurbishment of the stadium was part of the legacy of the Greek national benefactor Evangelos Zappas , and it was the first ancient stadium to be used in modern times. Stadiums in ancient Greece and Rome were built for different purposes, and at first only

4140-516: The Olympic Games, the first one being held in 1896 in Athens , Greece. The White City Stadium , built for the 1908 Summer Olympics in London is often cited as the first modern seater stadium, at least in the UK. Designed by the engineer J.J. Webster and completed in 10 months by George Wimpey , on the site of the Franco-British Exhibition , this stadium with a seating capacity of 68,000

4232-660: The Opera House. Major funding for construction came from a donation by Meyerhoff and grants from the State of Maryland and City of Baltimore. At the opening concert, Comissiona led the Orchestra in a world premiere performance of Housewarming by Morton Gould which was commissioned for the occasion. Other works on the program included Symphonic Variations by César Franck featuring pianist Leon Fleisher and Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss Music venue A music venue

4324-450: The US is bleachers , which is mostly used for seating areas with bench seats as opposed to individual seats, and which often are uncovered; the name refers to the bleaching effect direct, unshaded sunlight has on the benches and patrons in those sections. Many stadiums make luxury suites or boxes available to patrons at high prices. These suites can accommodate ten to thirty people, depending on

4416-404: The back half of the shell protect musicians from the elements and reflect sound through the open side and out towards the audience. Bandstand is a small outdoor structure. A concert hall is a performance venue constructed specifically for instrumental classical music . A concert hall may exist as part of a larger performing arts center. Jazz clubs are an example of a venue that is dedicated to

4508-420: The background, such as a performance on a grand piano in a restaurant . Music venues can be categorised in a number of ways. Typically, the genre of music played at the venue, whether it is temporary and who owns the venue decide many of the other characteristics. The majority of music venues are permanent; however, there are temporary music venues. An example of a temporary venue would be one constructed for

4600-522: The building's front. The exterior lobby walls feature large expanses of glass to open the building to the plaza which surrounds it. The auditorium ceiling ranges from a height of 44 ft (13 m) above the stage to 62 ft (19 m) at the rear wall. The walls of the stage are covered in a light-colored wood and feature box seats. Suspended above the stage originally were 52 precast concrete "clouds" which helped diffuse sound. In 1990, management added an extensive set of sound diffusers to improve

4692-453: The construction of new facilities. In Europe and Latin America, where there are multiple association football clubs in any given city, and several leagues in each country, no such monopoly power exists, and stadiums are built primarily with private money. Outside professional sports, governments are also involved through the intense competition for the right to host major sporting events, primarily

SECTION 50

#1732848710850

4784-665: The country. The term is a Japanese coinage ( wasei eigo ) and is mainly used in East Asia . The oldest live house is Coffee House Jittoku (拾得, after the Chinese monk Shide "Foundling") in Kyoto , founded in 1973 in an old sake warehouse. Soon afterwards, the idea spread through Japan. In recent years, similar establishments started to appear in big cities in South Korea and China ; many of them are also locally called "live houses." An opera house

4876-424: The double-sized round theatre called amphitheatre , seating crowds in the tens of thousands for gladiatorial combats and beast shows. The Greek stadium and theatre and the Roman circus and amphitheatre are all ancestral to the modern stadium. The first stadiums to be built in the modern era were basic facilities, designed for the single purpose of fitting as many spectators in as possible. With tremendous growth in

4968-416: The entire height of the building with the roof sloping down over the stage area. The exterior surface of the cylinder is covered in brown brick and rises through the lobby to be clearly discernible on the exterior of the building. Backstage areas are housed in a concentric oval which projects from the rear of the building while the lobby and patron areas are housed under a sloping metal roof which extends from

5060-408: The first and second Busch Stadiums , in that the parks were named by and for the club's owner, which also happened to be the name of the company owned by those clubowners. (The current Busch Stadium received its name via a modern naming rights agreement.) During the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, some stadiums were temporarily renamed because FIFA prohibits sponsorship of stadiums. For example,

5152-592: The horseshoe-shaped auditorium, the oldest in the world, a model for the Italian theater. On this model were built subsequent theaters in Italy and Europe, among others, the court theater of the Palace of Caserta , which became the model for other theaters. Given the popularity of opera in 18th and 19th century Europe, opera houses are usually large, often containing more than 1,000 seats. Traditionally, Europe's major opera houses built in

5244-439: The house, and "house seats", known as "the best seats in the house", giving the best view of the stage. Sports stadium A stadium ( pl. : stadiums or stadia ) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event. Pausanias noted that for about half

5336-476: The largest among them, are megaprojects that can only be afforded by the largest corporations, wealthiest individuals, or government. Sports fans have a deep emotional attachment to their teams. In North America, with its closed-league " franchise " system, there are fewer teams than cities which would like them. This creates tremendous bargaining power for the owners of teams, whereby owners can threaten to relocate teams to other cities unless governments subsidize

5428-492: The largest venues, such as stadiums, can hold tens of thousands of spectators. Music venues are either outdoor or indoor. Examples of outdoor venues include bandstands and bandshells ; such outdoor venues provide minimal shelter for performing musicians and are usually located in parks. A temporary music festival is typically an outdoor venue. Examples of indoor venues include public houses , nightclubs , coffee bars , and stadia. Venues can play live music, recorded music, or

5520-418: The mid-1970s as the increased power of amplification and sound systems allowed the use of larger and larger venues. Smoke, fireworks and sophisticated lighting shows became staples of arena rock performances. Key acts from this era included Journey , REO Speedwagon , Boston , Foreigner , Styx , Kiss , Peter Frampton and Queen . In the 1980s arena rock became dominated by glam metal bands, following

5612-476: The name of one of FIFA's major sponsors , was known by its historic name of Ellis Park Stadium during the 2010 FIFA World Cup . Corporate names are also temporarily replaced during the Olympics. Modern stadiums bring several negative environmental issues with their construction. They require thousands of tons of materials to build, they greatly increase traffic in the area around the stadium, as well as maintaining

SECTION 60

#1732848710850

5704-401: The namesake corporation changes its name, or if it is the naming agreement simply expires. Phoenix's Chase Field , for example, was previously known as Bank One Ballpark, but was renamed to reflect the takeover of the latter corporation. San Francisco's historic Candlestick Park was renamed as 3Com Park for several years, but the name was dropped when the sponsorship agreement expired, and it

5796-475: The old stadiums they replace. In North America, where baseball and American football are the two most popular outdoor spectator sports, a number of football/baseball multi-use stadiums were built, especially during the 1960s, and some of them were successful. Since the requirements for baseball and football are significantly different, the trend has been toward the construction of single-purpose stadiums, beginning with Kansas City in 1972–1973 and accelerating in

5888-642: The opening of Shibe Park in Philadelphia and, a few months later, Forbes Field in Pittsburgh . The latter was the world's first three-tiered sporting venue. The opening of these parks marked the start of the "jewel box" era of park construction. The largest stadium crowd ever was 199,854 people watching the final match of the 1950 World Cup at Rio de Janeiro 's Maracanã on 16 July 1950. Domed stadiums are distinguished from conventional stadiums by their enclosing roofs. Many of these are not actually domes in

5980-452: The operas of Richard Strauss ), it can be more than 100 players. Similarly, an opera may have a large cast of characters, chorus, dancers and supernumeraries . Therefore, a major opera house will have extensive dressing room facilities. Opera houses often have on-premises set and costume building shops and facilities for storage of costumes, make-up, masks, and stage properties, and may also have rehearsal spaces. Major opera houses throughout

6072-539: The popularity of organised sport in the late Victorian era , especially association football in the United Kingdom and baseball in the United States, the first such structures were built. One such early stadium was the Lansdowne Road Stadium , the brainchild of Henry Dunlop , who organised the first All Ireland Athletics Championships. Banned from locating sporting events at Trinity College, Dunlop built

6164-815: The public. An "all-seater" stadium has seats for all spectators. Other stadiums are designed so that all or some spectators stand to view the event. The term "all-seater" is not common in the U.S., as very few American stadiums have sizeable standing-only sections. Poor stadium design has contributed to disasters, such as the Hillsborough disaster and the Heysel Stadium disaster . Since these, all Premier League , UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches require all spectators to be seated. Seating areas may be known as terraces , tiers , or decks . Originally set out for standing room only, they are now usually equipped with seating. Another term used in

6256-500: The pure architectural sense, some being better described as vaults , some having truss -supported roofs and others having more exotic designs such as a tensegrity structure . But, in the context of sports stadiums, the term "dome" has become standard for all covered stadiums, particularly because the first such enclosed stadium, the Houston Astrodome , was built with an actual dome-shaped roof. Some stadiums have partial roofs, and

6348-434: The show, such as at opera houses or classical recital halls. In some venues that also include food and beverage service, the performers may be playing background music to add to the ambiance. Amphitheaters are round- or oval-shaped and usually unroofed. Permanent seating at amphitheaters is generally tiered. A bandshell is a large, outdoor performing structure typically used by concert bands and orchestras . The roof and

6440-428: The singers, since trained opera singers are normally able to project their unamplified voices in the hall. Since the 1990s, however, some opera houses have begun using a subtle form of sound reinforcement called acoustic enhancement . A pub, or public house, is an establishment licensed to sell alcoholic drinks , which traditionally include beer (such as ale ) and cider . It is a social drinking establishment and

6532-426: The sound that the musicians heard on stage. These were removed as unsatisfactory after several seasons, and replaced in 2001 as part of a renovation project. The five-year project began in 1997 and also included a new stage lighting system, new stage risers and equipment lift, expanded storage and performer dressing rooms, increased patron washrooms and improved access for patrons with physical disabilities. The stage

6624-526: The stadium in 1872. "I laid down a cinder running path of a quarter-mile, laid down the present Lansdowne Tennis Club ground with my own theodolite, started a Lansdowne archery club, a Lansdowne cricket club, and last, but not least, the Lansdowne Rugby Football Club – colours red, black and yellow." Some 300 cartloads of soil from a trench beneath the railway were used to raise the ground, allowing Dunlop to use his engineering expertise to create

6716-401: The stadium's history. The vastly differing character of European football stadiums has led to the growing hobby of ground hopping where spectators make a journey to visit the stadium for itself rather than for the event held there. In recent years the trend of building completely new oval stadiums in Europe has led to traditionalists criticising the designs as bland and lacking in the character of

6808-526: The stadium. The increased traffic around modern stadiums has led to create exposure zones says the Health Effect Institute, exposing 30–40% of people living around the stadium to potential health issues. Many stadiums are attempting to counteract these issues by implementing solar panels, and high efficiency lighting, to reduce their own carbon footprint. Although concerts, such as classical music, had been presented in them for decades, beginning in

6900-544: The stage, are boxes (small partitioned sections of a balcony). Since the latter part of the 19th century, opera houses often have an orchestra pit , where many orchestra players may be seated at a level below the audience, so that they can play without overwhelming the singing voices. This is especially true of Wagner 's Bayreuth Festspielhaus where the pit is partially covered. The size of an opera orchestra varies, but for some operas, oratorios and other works, it may be very large; for some romantic period works (or for many of

6992-660: The team then known as the Boston Beaneaters (now the Atlanta Braves ). Many of these parks caught fire, and those that did not proved inadequate for a growing game. All of the 19th-century wooden parks were replaced, some after a few years, and none survive today. Goodison Park was the first purpose-built association football stadium in the world. Walton -based building firm Kelly brothers were instructed to erect two uncovered stands that could each accommodate 4,000 spectators. A third covered stand accommodating 3,000 spectators

7084-513: The type of venue, the opening hours , location and length of performance may differ, as well as the technology used to deliver the music in the venue. Other attractions, such as performance art , standup comedy , or social activities, may also be available, either while music is playing or at other times. For example, at a bar or pub , the house band may be playing live songs while drinks are being served, and between songs, recorded music may be played. Some classes of venues may play live music in

7176-551: The venue. Luxury suites at events such as the Super Bowl can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Due to the number of people congregating in stadiums and the frequency of events, many notable accidents have occurred in the past, some causing injury and death. For example, the Hillsborough disaster was a human crush at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield , England on 15 April 1989. The resulting 97 deaths and 765 injuries makes this

7268-513: The world often have highly mechanized stages , with large stage elevators permitting heavy sets to be changed rapidly. At the Metropolitan Opera , for instance, sets are often changed during the action, as the audience watches, with singers rising or descending as they sing. This occurs in the Met's productions of operas such as Aida and Tales of Hoffmann . London 's Royal Opera House , which

7360-456: The worst disaster in British sporting history. Much effort has been spent to avoid the recurrence of such events, both in design and legislation. Especially where there is a perceived risk of terrorism or violence attention remains high to prevent human death and keep stadiums as places where families can enjoy a public event together. In Europe and South America, during the twentieth century, it

7452-466: Was Old Trafford in Manchester. The ground was originally designed with a capacity of 100,000 spectators and featured seating in the south stand under cover, while the remaining three stands were left as terraces and uncovered. It was the first stadium to feature continuous seating along the contours of the stadium. These early venues, originally designed to host football matches, were adopted for use by

7544-467: Was also requested. Everton officials were impressed with the builder's workmanship and agreed two further contracts: exterior hoardings were constructed at a cost of £150 and 12 turnstiles were installed at a cost of £7 each. The stadium was officially opened on 24 August 1892 by Lord Kinnaird and Frederick Wall of the Football Association. No football was played; instead the 12,000 crowd watched

7636-593: Was another two years before the new name of Monster Cable Products ' Monster Park was applied. Local opposition to the corporate naming of that particular stadium led San Francisco's city council to permanently restore the Candlestick Park name once the Monster contract expired. More recently, in Ireland, there has been huge opposition to the renaming of Dublin 's historic Lansdowne Road as the Aviva Stadium . Lansdowne

7728-574: Was built on a triangular city block in The Bronx , New York City. This resulted in a large left field dimension but a small right field dimension. Before more modern football stadiums were built in the United States, many baseball parks, including Fenway Park , the Polo Grounds , Wrigley Field , Comiskey Park , Tiger Stadium , Griffith Stadium , Milwaukee County Stadium , Shibe Park , Forbes Field , Yankee Stadium , and Sportsman's Park were used by

7820-686: Was common for violent bands of supporters to fight inside or close to association football stadiums. In the United Kingdom they are known as hooligans . Structural features that increase safety include separate entry and exit accesses for each spectator area, especially separating accesses for home and visitor supporters, dividing walls, glass parapets, vibration attenuation and sprinkler systems. Security features that have been adopted include armed surveillance, Identity document checks, video surveillance , metal detectors and security searches to enforce rules that forbid spectators to carry dangerous or potentially dangerous items. Modern stadiums, especially

7912-424: Was opened by King Edward VII on 27 April 1908. Upon completion, the stadium had a running track 24 ft wide (7.3 m) and three laps to the mile (536 m); outside there was a 35-foot-wide (11 m), 660-yard (600 m) cycle track. The infield included a swimming and diving pool. The London Highbury Stadium , built in 1913, was the first stadium in the UK to feature a two-tiered seating arrangement when it

8004-520: Was redesigned in the Art Deco style in 1936. During these decades, parallel stadium developments were taking place in the U.S. The Baker Bowl , a baseball park in Philadelphia that opened in its original form in 1887 but was completely rebuilt in 1895, broke new ground in stadium construction in two major ways. The stadium's second incarnation featured the world's first cantilevered second deck (tier) in

8096-522: Was redeveloped as the Aviva, opening in May 2010. On the other hand, Los Angeles' Great Western Forum , one of the earliest examples of corporate renaming, retained its name for many years, even after the namesake bank no longer existed, the corporate name being dropped only after the building later changed ownership. This practice has typically been less common in countries outside the United States. A notable exception

8188-523: Was remodeled in the late 1990s, retained the original 1858 auditorium at its core, but added completely new backstage and wing spaces as well as an additional performance space and public areas. Much the same happened in the remodeling of Milan 's La Scala opera house between 2002 and 2004. Although stage, lighting and other production aspects of opera houses often make use of the latest technology, traditional opera houses have not used sound reinforcement systems with microphones and loudspeakers to amplify

8280-563: Was reportedly the first floodlit stadium. Floodlighting in association football dates as far back as 1878, when there were floodlit experimental matches at Bramall Lane, Sheffield during the dark winter afternoons. With no national grid , lights were powered by batteries and dynamoes , and were unreliable. Since the development of electrical grids, lighting has been an important element in stadium design, allowing games to be played after sundown, and in covered, or partly covered stadiums that allow less natural light, but provide more shelter for

8372-521: Was the first such ballpark for Major League Baseball to be built, using early-20th-century styling with 21st-century amenities. There is a solar-powered stadium in Taiwan that produces as much energy as it needs to function. Stadium designers often study acoustics to increase noise caused by fans' voices, aiming to create a lively atmosphere. Until the advent of floodlights , most games played on large areas had to rely on natural lighting. Bramall Lane

8464-525: Was the use of large stadiums for American tours by bands in the later 1960s, such as The Rolling Stones , Grand Funk Railroad , and Led Zeppelin . The tendency developed in the mid-1970s as the increased power of amplification and sound systems allowed the use of larger and larger venues. Smoke, fireworks and sophisticated lighting shows became staples of arena rock performances. Key acts from this era included Journey , REO Speedwagon , Boston , Foreigner , Styx , Kiss , Peter Frampton , and Queen . In

#849150