82-630: Sixfields Stadium is a 7,798-capacity all-seater sports stadium in the Sixfields area on the west side of Northampton , England. It has been the home ground of Northampton Town Football Club following their move from the County Ground in October 1994. It was also rented by Coventry City between July 2013 and August 2014. Aside from being a sports venue, Sixfields also houses conference facilities. Since 1897, Northampton Town had played their home games at
164-719: A groundshare with Northampton in the 2013–14 season. This arrangement was due to continue for three seasons, but in September 2014 Coventry returned to playing at the Ricoh Arena. The largest of the stands, seating just under 4,000 home supporters on a match day. The West Stand also accommodates the Weatherbys Boardroom, the LMR Legends Lounge, the Tollers Solicitors 1897 Suite, Carrs Bar, and changing rooms. The tunnel
246-451: A hat-trick on the ground. A record of 5,375 was set on 28 August 2013 when Morecambe hosted Newcastle United in the 2nd Round of the League Cup with Newcastle emerging 2–0 winners. That record was broken in a League One matchup against Sheffield Wednesday eight years later to the day, on 28 August 2021, where 5,481 people attended and saw a 1–0 win for the home side; that was broken
328-525: 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 a few have even been designed to have moveable fields as part of the infrastructure. The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans
410-583: A capacity of 606, giving a similar feel to the ground as that at Christie Park . At either ends of the pitch are the home and away stands, with the home end holding a maximum of 2,234 supporters and the away end having a capacity of 1,389. In the north east corner of the stadium is the Tyson Fury Foundation, which is split between two floors. The building also houses a gym, which was purchased by Tyson Fury in August 2020. Work officially started on clearing
492-405: 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
574-484: 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 was Old Trafford in Manchester. The ground
656-403: 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
738-452: 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 was also requested. Everton officials were impressed with
820-467: 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
902-455: A restricted view of play. Currently the stand is only half finished. The stand and associated works were in part funded by a £10.25 million loan from Northampton Borough Council . The redevelopment of the East Stand was not completed in time for the opening home match of the 2014–15 League Two season. In September 2015, with the building work incomplete and two repayments on the loan missed,
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#1733086331413984-630: A result Northampton began the season still at the County Ground. The first game to be played at Sixfields was against Barnet in Division Three on 15 October 1994. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with striker Martin Aldridge scoring the first goal at the new stadium. Because of a rent dispute between the owners of Coventry City and the landlords of their home ground, the Ricoh Arena , Coventry started
1066-518: A similar-scale stand to the existing West stand, housing: 4,000 supporters; additional executive facilities; a new family area; plus adding an adjoining hotel and conference centre. Redevelopment began in summer 2014, but in June scaled down plans were revealed, reducing capacity of the stand to about 3,100. Artist's impressions show a similar design to that of Morecambe F.C.'s Globe Arena main stand. Supporters criticised these new designs, as some seats may have
1148-510: 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
1230-456: A summary of the Sixfields issue under the headline Northampton Town: scandal of missing millions from council's stadium plan – Cobblers supporters baffled and distressed as council seeks answers about what happened to £10.25m loan to pay for improvements to Sixfields stadium . The club's new owners announced that seats would be put into the East Stand, which would take the capacity up to 7,724 for
1312-530: Is a football stadium in Morecambe, Lancashire , England, which is the home of Morecambe F.C. The stadium opened in 2010, replacing the old Morecambe F.C. stadium, Christie Park , which was Morecambe's home from 1921 to 2010. The stadium holds up to 6,476 supporters, with 2,173 seats available in the Main Stand, which runs the length of one side of the pitch. Opposite the Main Stand is an uncovered terrace with
1394-439: 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 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
1476-680: 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
1558-646: Is also there, where the players walk out to the music Liquidator . In 2024 it was renamed the Jackson Grundy Stand due to a sponsorship arrangement with estate agency Jackson Grundy. Named the LCS Dave Bowen Stand after ex-Northampton Town player and manager Dave Bowen , who helped take the club from Division Four to the First Division during the 1960s, the North Stand is behind the goal nearest to
1640-457: Is located to the left end goal mouth. The stand has a bar and catering outlets to the rear. The Dennison Trailers Stand can also be known as the East Stand, and is located to the right end goalmouth. The Stand accommodates 1,389 standing visiting spectators and has a bar and catering outlets. The Terrace is an uncovered standing area that, like the Peter McGuigan stand, runs along the side of
1722-705: 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
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#17330863314131804-600: 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 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
1886-535: 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 the Greeks built structures called "stadium"; Romans built structures called " circus ". Greek stadia were for foot races, whereas
1968-487: The 2010–11 season . Globe Arena's opening game was to be a friendly against Bolton Wanderers on 28 July 2010, with the official opening of the stadium due to be marked by a local derby against rivals Preston North End on 31 July. However, all three planned home pre-season friendly fixtures were cancelled because of site delays. The stadium's opening game was instead against Coventry City for Morecambe's League Cup first-round tie on 10 August, in which Morecambe marked
2050-752: 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
2132-479: The County Cricket Ground , sharing it with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club . Because of the larger size of a cricket pitch, the football ground only had stands on three sides. Northampton Town chose to construct their own stadium, more suitable for football, in the Sixfields area of Northampton. The stadium had been scheduled to be opened at the start of the 1994–95 , but was not ready on time and as
2214-608: 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
2296-613: 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
2378-637: 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
2460-591: 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
2542-532: 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,
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2624-740: The Cardozas and 1st Land fell in dispute in March 2014, and during investigation the Cardozas called the sum a "Joint Venture Fee" – money paid to one party to help carry out a jointly-run project – whilst former director Howard Grossman called it a loan. After the collapse of 1st Land, County Developments (Northampton) Ltd (CDNL) took over the facilitation work, but it also now in liquidation; its directors are listed as David and Anthony Cardoza, while Marcus Grossman and Simon Patnick resigned directorships in January 2015. On 7 November 2015 The Guardian newspaper published
2706-476: The East Stand instead. This stand has a capacity of 972 seats In December 2003, the football club secured a 150-year lease on the ground from the local council. The then owners of Northampton Town, David and Tony Cardoza, proposed to redevelop the whole ground, doubling capacity into a 15,000 all-seater stadium. This would start by adding executive boxes and a further 2,000 seats to the West Stand, whilst expanding
2788-648: 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 the Olympic Games in 1870 and 1875 before hosting the first modern Olympics in 1896 , the 1906 Intercalated Games , and some events of
2870-526: The Main Stand and runs along the side of the pitch. Within the stand, there are facilities on three floors; the ground floor includes advanced changing, first aid, home, away and officials' dressing rooms, gym and office facilities for players and management, as well as a bar, club shop, and reception area on the public side. On the first floor there is a 387m sq hospitality suite for matchday use; it can be sub-divided into three separate areas for smaller functions and private parties, and will be available throughout
2952-470: 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 the double-sized round theatre called amphitheatre , seating crowds in
3034-481: 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 a sports venue, and was the first baseball park to use steel and brick for the majority of its construction. Another influential venue
3116-824: 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 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
3198-450: 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
3280-524: 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 the stadium in 1872. "I laid down a cinder running path of a quarter-mile, laid down
3362-536: The borough council issued legal notices to the club requiring that the loan be repaid by 15 October 2015. On 15 October 2015 a winding-up petition was launched by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to recover unpaid taxes from Northampton Town Football Club at the High Court . HMRC claimed to be owed a five-figure sum in unpaid taxes from the club, and said it would take the club to the High Court on 16 November unless payment
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3444-462: 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 a short track and field event followed by music and
3526-515: The club confirmed that the Stadium would return to the original name, Sixfields Stadium, from 1 July 2021. In April 2024, it was announced that the east stand would be finished by the first quarter of 2025. Images were released and the stadium is planned to expand to a capacity of 8,203 52°14′7″N 0°56′0″W / 52.23528°N 0.93333°W / 52.23528; -0.93333 Stadium A stadium ( pl. : stadiums or stadia )
3608-481: The clubs offices and facilities. The other stands would then be expanded and joined to create a 'bowl' stadium. The new complex would also feature a hotel, coinciding with one of the stands at the County Ground being known as The Hotel End. The proposed expansion would be largely financed by associated development, such as new shops and the hotel. As these associated developments would not comply with national government policy on restricting out-of-town retail development,
3690-496: The companies undertaking the development. 1st Land Ltd was a subsidiary of County Group Ltd (also in administration), part of a group owned by businessman Howard Grossman, and had paid monies to associated companies: £1.475m to County Homes (Herts) Ltd; and £233,000 to County Cemetery Services Ltd, directors of which included Howard Grossman, his son Marcus Grossman and Simon Patnick. Further, 1st Land paid £2.65M to Tony and David Cardoza. The liquidators' report for 1st Land Ltd says that
3772-453: 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
3854-549: The final few home games of the 2015–16 season. It would form part of phase one while phase two would be completed during the off-season. The first phase would be completed by the start of April 2016. It was announced on 31 March 2016 that the stand would be open on 2 April for the game against Notts County. The stadium was renamed the PTS Academy Stadium in June 2018 after the club agreed a naming rights partnership with local training provider PTS Training Academy. In June 2020,
3936-408: 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,
4018-498: The hill. It seats 972 fans. The East Stand is the location of the BEES Family Hive and faces the West Stand. It can seat approximately 1,974 fans and is usually reserved for home supporters. Standing opposite and identical to LCS Dave Bowen Stand, this end is reserved for away fans. Until the 2015/2016 season the only occasion on which this stand has held Northampton Town supporters was against Chester City on 29 April 2006 when
4100-476: 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
4182-540: 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 , Michael Jackson , Beyoncé , Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift , have undertaken large-scale stadium based concert tours . Globe Arena (football stadium) The Mazuma Mobile Stadium (formerly known as the Globe Arena for sponsorship reasons)
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#17330863314134264-466: 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, the stadium , had a similar length – about 185 m (607 ft) – but instead of being defined in feet
4346-418: 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
4428-451: 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 was redesigned in the Art Deco style in 1936. During these decades, parallel stadium developments were taking place in
4510-476: 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
4592-401: 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
4674-416: The occasion by beating their Championship opponents 2–0, with Andy Fleming scoring the first two goals at the stadium. The first league game at the Globe Arena was a 0–0 draw with Rotherham United . Their first league win came in a 1–0 match against Shrewsbury Town . The Shrimps' biggest victory on the ground was a 6–0 defeat of Crawley Town , with striker Phil Jevons becoming the first player to score
4756-475: 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
4838-529: The plans for stadium expansion have not progressed to the stage where a formal planning application has been made. In 2009, the Northampton Retail Strategy was produced by consultants CACI for Northampton Borough Council. This study concluded that further out-of-town retail development would harm the existing town centre. In 2013, the club proposed redevelopment of the East stand. The project would provide
4920-515: 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 a pitch envied around Ireland. Other early stadiums from this period in
5002-815: 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
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#17330863314135084-452: The same season, when 5,617 spectators were in attendance for a 1–1 draw against Bolton Wanderers, and once more in the last game of the season when 5,831 saw Morecambe fall 0-1 to Sunderland but maintain their place in League One for a second consecutive season. The stand is named after chairman Peter McGuigan, to celebrate his 10 years in charge of the club. The stand can also be known as
5166-404: The site of trees on 9 May 2009, and work above ground started in early September 2009. By the middle of September the first main structure of the Main Stand was visible, and in early 2010 the other three stands were being developed. In late May the pitch was seeded. It was originally planned that the stadium would be ready for the 2009–10 season , but delays meant that it would not be ready until
5248-401: 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
5330-526: 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
5412-447: 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" is the Latin form of the Greek word " stadion " ( στάδιον ), a measure of length equalling
5494-446: The stand was split and supporters segregated to allow the maximum number of home supporters to witness the club's promotion to League One . During the 2015–16 season, the stand was split between home and away fans numerous times because of high demand from Northampton Town fans. That was done again in the 3-1 win over Harrogate Town in the 2022-23 promotion winning season. If visiting teams bring less than 550, then they are housed in
5576-491: 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 the pure architectural sense, some being better described as vaults , some having truss -supported roofs and others having more exotic designs such as
5658-452: 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 the popularity of organised sport in the late Victorian era , especially association football in
5740-551: 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
5822-456: 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
5904-406: The year for non-matchday functions including conferencing use for up to 360 people. On the second floor are five private boxes which each accommodate 10 people, a sponsors' lounge for 24 people, and the directors' lounge. All have private catering facilities and their own bird's eye view of the pitch. The Halo Terrace is also known as the West Stand. It accommodates 2,234 standing home spectators and
5986-573: 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 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
6068-593: 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
6150-574: 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
6232-686: 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
6314-473: 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 is the Stadium at Olympia in Greece, where the ancient Olympic Games were held from 776 BC. Initially
6396-525: 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 the Olympic Games, the first one being held in 1896 in Athens , Greece. The White City Stadium , built for
6478-407: Was received. The Buckingham Group, which was building the new stand, told the supporters' group on 19 October 2015 that it was owed nearly £3M for work on the stand by May, and hence stopped work in June. On 30 October 2015 it was reported that players and staff at the club had not been paid as the club's bank account was frozen. In November 2015, administrators' and liquidators' reports emerged for
6560-522: 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
6642-563: 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
6724-521: 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
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