In Roman times, the ARENA was merely a place designed for the assembly of masses of people wishing to be entertained

by an event or sport. The Colosseum was well organized, its evenly spaced rows of backless benches were constructed out of beautiful but less than comfortable marble. SIGHTLINES are arguably the most in uential factors in determining an arena bowls con guration. They have a direct e ect on myraid bowl design components. Sightline issues are so important that they can make or break a fans experience. SPECTATORS desire for comfort and , especially owners desire for revenue have changed the way architects organize and execute the design of the arena bowls.

RISER HEIGHT =

sightlines

Point of focus

KEY : C = the C value D = the horizontal distance from the eye to the point of focus N = the riser height R = the vertical height to the point of focus T = the seating row depth

GALLERY IN ROMAN COLOSSEUM seating area was called the cavea the colosseum was divided into 4 sectors each of the sector had 4 tiers of seating 1st tier - podium (place of honour) The emperor, Priests Government members 2nd tier maenianum primum : Knights stone or marble seats 3rd tier was divided into two section: maenianum secundum imum : the better, lower seats for the wealthy plebians ( Citizens ) maenianum secundum summum : the upper seats for the poor plebeians ( Citizens ) 4th tier maenianum summum in ligneis: Common women- wooden seats Standing room - there was standing room

COLOSSEUM PLAN

WHEN SIGHTLINES ARE GOOD THEY USUALLY GO UNNOTICED , BUT WHEN THEY ARE BAD THEY BECOME THE MOST APPARENT VARIABLE IN THE VIEWING OF AN EVENT

GALLERY ZONNING

ARENA - SPECTATOR ACCOMODATION

ROSHINI MOHAN / SWETHA SURESH / RAHUL RAMESH / VISHNU SHANKAR

1. Decide the point of focus on the playing eld Part of the playing eld actually, in use by the players, that is closest to the spectators.
Sport cricket Football/soccer Basketball Baseball Athletics Netball Handball horseracing Point of focus 0 0 0 500 500 0 500 1000

2. Decide a suitable C value Choosing a low C value Easier stand design. Steep seating angles can be avoided. Unsatisfactory viewing in the case of sports where the action moves widely across the eld.

C value 150mm 12mm 90mm 60mm

Remark excellent very good reasonable Absolute minimum

Choosing a high C value Excellent viewing. Steeply raked stands. Great design di culties in large capacity stadiums.

3. Decide the distance between the front row of seats and the point of focus The closer the rst row of seats is to the point of focus, the steeper the rake will be, and the higher the back of the stand for a given C value.

4. Decide the level of the front row of seats relative to the playing eld. The higher the rst row of seats above pitch level , the better viewing standard will be, but also the back of the stand will be higher. This may cause problems to building cost and appearance.

ARENA - SPECTATOR ACCOMODATION

ROSHINI MOHAN / SWETHA SURESH / RAHUL RAMESH / VISHNU SHANKAR

GALLERY ZONNING General seating Club seating Press seating VIP seating Never create a zone for the disabled, equally distribute it throughout the arena.
Lower bowl general seating Lower bowl club seating Lower bowl VIP seating Suit level Loge level

Use of a super riser to ensure that spectators in wheelchairs can see over the heads of spectators in front of them, even when the latter rise to their feet. locate the majority of the seats in the lower bowl. the rake of the upper bowl must be steeper than in the lower. the fewer the number of seats in the steeper deck the better. disabled seating areas must be distributed horizontally and vertically throughout an arena bowl. in addition , people in wheelchairs must be able to see above the shoulders of individuals standing one row in front of them . substantial single rise that creates a platform for wheelchair patrons. people seated behind wheelchair users must be provided with good sightlines and also requires a steeper rake in order to maintain the accepted sightline. an additional rise behind the wheelchair seating. the nal result is an increase in the overall bowl height of more that 5 feet- corresponds to additional construction costs.

Upper bowl general seating Upper bowl club seating

SEATING BOWL PLAN - HOCKEY CONFIGURATION EDMONTON ARENA, ALBERTA

TRANSVERSE SECTION - EDMONTON ARENA, ALBERTA

ARENA - SPECTATOR ACCOMODATION

ROSHINI MOHAN / SWETHA SURESH / RAHUL RAMESH / VISHNU SHANKAR