INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION DESIGN AND APPRECIATION

International Construction Design And Appreciation

International Construction Design And Appreciation

Introduction

Sports administrators and politicians frequently claim that stadia and the sports events associated with them have beneficial effects on the economy. Surveys compiled before the construction or installation regularly demonstrate this. A case in point is the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany, for which various banks, organizations and universities tendered their expertise. Positive effects such as a long-term increase in the number of visitors, the establishment of new industries and so on are claimed for the period following the event, but in most cases the claims do not have the back-up of appropriate data.

The event itself took place in the favorable context of a good party atmosphere throughout the country engendered by the unexpected success of the German national team — but there has been disillusionment over its economic effects. Econometric studies investigating the effects of the construction of sports facilities or events on the basis of statistical time series, paint a typical picture of the 'paradoxical' effect of sport on revenue and employment for the 2006 World Cup.1 In only a few cases has it been possible to demonstrate positive surges in statistical terms (Baade, 2006).

The long-term effects, often only slightly positive ones, may be related to an aspect that has frequently been ignored: architectural quality and urban design. While the German World Cup venues are full of technical innovations and meet stringent requirements for comfort and safety, their design generally remains conventional and 'functional'. In contrast, international examples show how unconventional, sometimes iconic, stadium architecture can be used to create new landmarks and boost successful municipal development policies. The first empirical evidence in this regard shows that architecture contributes to more than the business economy. When a structure generates positive spillovers for the local community or neighborhood, the use of public funds to cover the additional costs that arise through adopting an unconventional stadium architecture may be justifiable in economic terms. This dimension is of high actuality, particularly with regard to the ambitious plans for the forthcoming sporting events in South Africa (World Cup 2010) and London.

The recent urban design literature suggests that architecture and urban design are experiencing a rise in significance in a globalizing economy as cities increasingly compete for tourists, firms and qualified workforce. We approach this phenomenon from the perspective of urban economics in that we are searching for empirical evidence that allows the impact of the built environment to be quantified by means of economic indicators. We focus on the current transition in international stadium architecture, demonstrating important trends such as the use of iconic elements, since the typically large public subsidies for stadium construction call for a maximization of public benefits.

Gillette Stadium

The Stadium has a seating capacity of 68,000, including 3,000 seats in each of the two 60,000 square foot, three story high Clubhouses. There are 80 luxury suites, ranging from 16-person to 36-person capacity. Access to the Clubhouse is via a series of escalators contained within a ...