A modern stadium (plural stadiums or stadia in English) is a place, or venue, for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event. Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively A concert is a live Performance, usually of Music, before an Audience.
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History of the stadium
The word originates from the Greek word "stadion" (στάδιον), a Greek measure of length roughly 180 - 200m. The oldest known stadium is the one in Olympia, in western Peloponnese, Greece, where the Olympic Games of antiquity were held since 776 BC. Olympia ( Greek: Olympí'a or Olýmpia, older transliterations Olimpia, Olimbia) a sanctuary of ancient Greece The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus ( Greek: Πελοπόννησος Pelopónnisos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large Peninsula Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Olympic Games is an international Multi-sport event established for both summer and winter games Events and trends 778 BC — Agamestor King of Athens, dies after a reign of 17 years and is succeeded by his son Aeschylus Initially 'the Games' consisted of a single event, a sprint along the length of the stadium. Therefore the length of the Olympia stadium was more or less standardized as a measure of distance (approximately 190 meters or 210 yd). The practice of standardizing footrace tracks to a length of 180-200 meters (200-220 yd) was followed by the Romans as well. Greek and Roman stadia have been found in numerous ancient cities, perhaps the most famous being the Colosseum or the Stadium of Domitian, both in Rome. The Colosseum or Roman Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre ( Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2
The modern stadium
Types
Dome stadiums are distinguished from conventional stadiums by their enclosing roofs. The Stade de France is a Stadium in Saint-Denis, France in the inner suburbs of Paris. A dome is a common structural element of Architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a Sphere. They are called stadiums because they are large enough for, and designed for, what are generally considered to be outdoor sports. Those designed for what are usually indoor sports are called arenas. An arena is an enclosed area often circular or oval-shaped designed to showcase Theater, musical performances or sporting events Some stadiums have partial roofs, and a few have even been designed to have moveable fields.
The term "stadium" tends to be used mostly in connection with games like football, American football, Baseball, Gaelic football, Hurling, Rugby, and other large field games. Football is the word given to a number of similar Team sports all of which involve (to varying degrees kicking a Ball with the foot in an attempt to score a American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Gaelic football ( Irish: Peil, Peil Ghaelach, or Caid) commonly referred to as " football " is a form of Football Hurling (in Irish, iománaíocht or iomáint) is an outdoor team Sport of ancient Gaelic origin administered by the Gaelic Rugby football (usually just " rugby " may refer to a number of sports through history descended from a common form of Football developed at Rugby School An exception is the basketball arena at Duke University, which is called Cameron Indoor Stadium and the now-demolished Chicago Stadium, former home of the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL and Chicago Bulls of the NBA. Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m An arena is an enclosed area often circular or oval-shaped designed to showcase Theater, musical performances or sporting events Duke University is a private Research University located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Cameron Indoor Stadium is a Basketball Arena located on the West Campus of Duke University in Durham North Carolina. Demolition is the opposite of Construction: the tearing-down of Buildings and other Structures It contrasts with deconstruction The Chicago Stadium was a famed and historic indoor sports arena in Chicago Illinois. The National Hockey League ( NHL) is a professional Ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America The Chicago Bulls are an American professional Basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern
Design issues
Different sports require fields of different size and shape. Some stadiums are designed primarily for a single sport while others can accommodate different events, particularly ones with retractable seating. Movable seating is a feature of some modern Stadiums often known as convertible stadiums, or moduable stadiums. Stadiums built specifically for football (soccer) are quite common in Europe however Gaelic games Stadiums would be most common in Ireland, while ones built specifically for baseball or American Football are common in the United States. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Gaelic games are the traditional sports played in Ireland. The two main Gaelic games are Gaelic football and Hurling, both of which are organised by the Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The most common multiple use design combines a football pitch with a running track, a combination which generally works fairly well, although certain compromises must be made. Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of Stadium designed for use by multiple teams playing Baseball, American football, soccer, and in some The major drawback is that the stands are necessarily set back a good distance from the pitch, especially at the ends of the pitch. The Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin is being remodelled to remove the running track after persistent complaints from fans of Juventus F.C.. The Stadio delle Alpi is a football and athletics stadium in Turin, Italy, and was the home of both Juventus and Torino In the case of some smaller stadiums, there aren't 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 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 (soccer) 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 the stadium's history. The vast differing character of European football (soccer) 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 being 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 the old stadia 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. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of Stadium designed for use by multiple teams playing Baseball, American football, soccer, and in some The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969
However, since the requirements for baseball and football are significantly different, the trend beginning with Kansas City in 1972-1973, and accelerating in the 1990s, has been toward the construction of single-purpose stadiums. The original Yankee Stadium is a Stadium located in The Bronx in New York City. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 In several cases an American football stadium has been constructed adjacent to a baseball park. 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, was built on a triangular city block in The Bronx, New York City. The original Yankee Stadium is a Stadium located in The Bronx in New York City. The City of New York This resulted in a large left field dimension but a small right field dimension, which added to the stadium's character.
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 the National Football League or the American Football League. The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different Stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City used by Baseball 's New York Giants Wrigley Field is a Baseball Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Comiskey Park (35th Street & Shields Avenue Chicago, Illinois) was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990 Tiger Stadium (formerly Navin Field then Briggs Stadium is a Stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. Griffith Stadium was a Sports Stadium that stood in Washington D Milwaukee County Stadium (or just County Stadium in context was a ballpark in Milwaukee Wisconsin from 1953 to 2000 Shibe Park, known for the last one-third of its existence as Connie Mack Stadium, was a Major League Baseball park in Philadelphia, Forbes Field was a Baseball park in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania from 1909 to 1971 The original Yankee Stadium is a Stadium located in The Bronx in New York City. For the race track outside Chicago known as Sportsman's Park see Chicago Motor Speedway. Along with today's single use stadiums is the trend for retro style ballparks closer to downtown areas. Oriole Park at Camden Yards was the first such ballpark for Major League Baseball to be built using early 20th century styling with 21st century amenities. Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a ballpark located in Baltimore Maryland, which was completed in 1992 to replace the aging Memorial Stadium. However, the Camden Yards concept originated with the minor league Dunn Tire Park in Buffalo, New York, which predated Camden Yards by four years. Part of the History of baseball series Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of Professional baseball leagues in North Dunn Tire Park is a Baseball -only facility in Buffalo New York. Buffalo (ˈbʌfəloʊ is the second largest city in New York State.
Spectator areas and seating
An "all-seater" stadium has seats for all spectators. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries All-seater stadium is the terminology applied to those sports stadia in which every spectator has a seat 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. , perhaps because 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. The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred owing to Football hooliganism in which a retaining wall of the Heysel Stadium in Brussels collapsed on May 29 Since these, both the FA Premier League and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches require all spectators to be seated (though not necessarily in an all-seater stadium, if terraces are left empty). The Premier League, colloquially referred to as the Premiership, is an English professional league for football clubs FIFA World Cup qualification is the process a national Football (soccer team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals, or more commonly
The spectator areas of a stadium can be referred to as bleachers, especially in the U. Bleachers redirects here For the novel see Bleachers (novel. Bleachers is a term used to describe the raised tiered stands found S. , or as terraces, especially in the United Kingdom but also in some American baseball parks, as an alternative to the term tier. Originally set out for standing room only, they are now usually equipped with seating. Either way, the term originates from the step-like rows which resemble agricultural terraces. In Agriculture, a terrace is a leveled section of a Hilly cultivated area designed as a method of Soil conservation to slow or prevent the rapid Related, but not precisely the same, is the use of terrace to describe a sloping portion of the outfield in a baseball park, possibly but not necessarily for seating, but for practical or decorative purposes. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each The most famous of these was at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Many stadiums make luxury suites available to patrons for thousands of dollars per event. These suites can accommodate fewer than 10 spectators or upwards of 30 depending on the venue. Luxury suites at events such as the Super Bowl can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. professional American football, the Super Bowl is the Championship game of the National Football League (NFL
Corporate naming
In recent decades, to help take the burden of the massive expense of building and maintaining a stadium, many American sports teams have sold the rights to the name of the facility. Jones AT&T Stadium is an outdoor football Stadium on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock Texas. Texas Tech University is a public, coeducational research university in Lubbock Texas. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This trend, which began in the 1970s but accelerated greatly in the 1990s, has led to sponsors' names being affixed to both established stadiums and new ones. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 In some cases, the corporate name replaces (with varying degrees of success) the name by which the venue has been known for many years — examples include Toronto's Rogers Centre, previously known as SkyDome. SkyDome redirects here for other uses see SkyDome (disambiguation SkyDome redirects here for other uses see SkyDome (disambiguation But many of the more recently-built ballparks, such as Milwaukee's Miller Park, have never been known by a non-corporate name. The sponsorship phenomenon has since spread worldwide. There remain a few municipally-owned stadiums, which are often known by a name that is significant to their area (for example, Minneapolis' Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome). Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr ( May 27, 1911 &ndash January 13, 1978) was the thirty-eighth Vice President of the United States, serving The Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome, often simply called The Metrodome, is a domed sports Stadium in downtown Minneapolis Minnesota. 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, for example when the namesake corporation changes its name, or if the naming agreement simply expires. Phoenix's Chase Field, for example, was previously known as Bank One Ballpark but was re-named to reflect the takeover of the latter corporation. Chase Field is a Baseball Stadium located in downtown Phoenix Arizona, and is the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks of the Bank One Corporation, based in Chicago Illinois, was the sixth-largest Bank in the United States. 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 was another two years before a new name of Monster Park was applied. Candlestick Park (also commonly referred to as Candlestick or The Stick) is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in San Francisco California Candlestick Park (also commonly referred to as Candlestick or The Stick) is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in San Francisco California On the other hand, Los Angeles' Great Western Forum, one of the earliest examples of corporate re-naming, 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. The Forum, known for a time as the Great Western Forum, is an indoor arena in Inglewood California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Perhaps the most interesting example is Houston's Minute Maid Park, which hurriedly dropped its original name of Enron Field when scandal engulfed the latter corporation — it became Astros Field for a year before finding a new corporate naming sponsor. Minute Maid Park (formerly The Ballpark at Union Station, Enron Field, and Astros Field) is a ballpark in Houston, Texas Enron Creditors Recovery Corporation (formerly Enron Corporation, former NYSE ticker symbol ENE was an American Energy company based in This practice has typically been less common in countries outside the United States. A notable exception is the Nippon Professional Baseball league of Japan, in which many of the teams are themselves named after their parent corporations. Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of Baseball in Japan. Also, many new European football stadiums, such as the Reebok Stadium and Emirates Stadium in England and Allianz Arena in Germany have been corporately named. The Reebok Stadium is the home Stadium of English Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook Retail Park The Emirates Stadium is a football stadium located on Ashburton Grove in Holloway, North London, and the home of Arsenal Football Club since The Allianz Arena is a football Stadium in the north of Munich, Germany
This new trend in corporate naming (or re-naming) is distinguishable from names of some older parks such as Crosley Field, Wrigley Field and 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 names of companies owned by those clubowners. Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wrigley Field is a Baseball Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago For the race track outside Chicago known as Sportsman's Park see Chicago Motor Speedway. Busch Memorial Stadium, or Busch Stadium was the home of the St (The current Busch Stadium received its name via a modern naming rights agreement. Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as " New Busch Stadium " or " Busch Stadium III " is the home of the St )
There was a large controversy in Toronto, Canada, when the famous SkyDome was renamed the Rogers Centre. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page SkyDome redirects here for other uses see SkyDome (disambiguation SkyDome redirects here for other uses see SkyDome (disambiguation
Naming also became an issue on the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, where some stadiums named after a sponsor had to be renamed. The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th instance of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament The Allianz Arena in München, for example, was renamed to "FIFA World Cup Stadium Munich". The Allianz Arena is a football Stadium in the north of Munich, Germany Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Likewise, the same stadium will be known as the "München Arena" during the UEFA cup.
See also: Naming rights and List of sports venues with sole naming rights
Music venues
Modern stadiums are often used by band as concert venues with some band such as The Rolling Stones and U2 doing stadium tours. Naming rights are the right to name a piece of Property, either tangible property or an event usually granted in exchange for financial considerations The following is a list of sports venues with sole Naming rights: Present naming rights Australia AAMI Stadium in Adelaide Croke Park (Páirc an Chrócaigh in Dublin, Ireland is the largest sports Stadium in Ireland (fifth largest in Europe) and the principal stadium Events 972 - Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces takes place Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Gallery
 The former SkyDome in Toronto, Canada was subject to a naming rights controversy when it was bought by Rogers Communications and renamed Rogers Centre. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Rogers Communications Inc (,) is one of Canada's largest communications companies particularly in the field of wireless communications and Cable television, with additional |
 The Stade Robert Champroux (Abidjan) in 2007 |
 Gaelic football match at Croke Park in Dublin |
 A panoramic view of the interior of Docklands Stadium (Telstra Dome) in Melbourne, Australia with the roof closed for an Australian Football League match |
 F.C. Porto Stadium in Europe |
References
See also
- Stad, Stead (as in Homestead), Stadt
- List of stadiums
- List of football (soccer) stadiums by country
- List of Major League Baseball stadiums
- List of eponyms of stadiums (stadiums named after people)
- List of stadiums by capacity
- List of indoor arenas
Related
External links
- Ballparks.com Facts, figures and photos about past, present and future stadiums
- worldstadia.com The Definitive Guide to World Stadiums
- Footballmatch Footballmatch Stadiumguide
- footballstadiums.vze.com All Football Stadiums
- mexicanstadiums.com: Mexican stadiums - soccer, football baseball and more
- Austadiums.com Detailed information on every Australian Stadium
- Ballparksofbaseball.com:One site with information on major league baseball parks past, present, and future.
- Worldstadiums.com:One of the most complete lists of stadiums around the world
- The Internet Football Ground Guide Detailed information on English football stadiums
- The Scottish Football Ground Guide Detailed information on Scottish football stadiums
- Stadiums of the World Information and forum on World Stadiums. Stade Robert Champroux is a multi-use Stadium in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Abidjan is the largest city and former Capital of Côte d'Ivoire ( Ivory Coast) Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Gaelic football ( Irish: Peil, Peil Ghaelach, or Caid) commonly referred to as " football " is a form of Football Croke Park (Páirc an Chrócaigh in Dublin, Ireland is the largest sports Stadium in Ireland (fifth largest in Europe) and the principal stadium Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Docklands Stadium, known as Telstra Dome, and originally as Victoria Stadium and Colonial Stadium, is a multi purpose sports and entertainment Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Australian Football League (AFL is both the professional Australian national competition in the Sport of Australian Rules Football and its highest Futebol Clube do Porto ( pron futɨ'bɔɫ 'klub(ɨ du 'poɾtu - short FC Porto or FCP - is a Portuguese Sports club best known Stad may refer to the word for City used in Swedish and Dutch, and related to German Stadt, and Grad in Stead (pronounced 'sted' as in " Instead " is a Surname, and may refer to C Stad ( Stadt, Statt or Stadlandet, not to be confused with the similar Deutsch Stadt, and Deitsch Stad; the The following is a list of Stadiums throughout the world Africa Algeria Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers This is a list of major football stadia, grouped by country and ordered by capacity. The following is a list of current and former Major League Baseball stadiums. This is a list of Eponyms of Stadiums Argentina Estadio Brigadier Estanislao López, Santa Fe, named for Estanislao López The following is a list of Sports Stadiums ordered by their capacity, that is the maximum number of spectators that the stadium can accommodate The following is an incomplete list of Sports Stadiums in Africa. The following is an incomplete list of Sports Stadiums in Asia. The following is an incomplete list of the largest sports stadia in Europe. The following is an incomplete list of Sports Stadiums in North America, including Central America and The Caribbean. The following is an incomplete list of Sports Stadiums in Oceania. The following is an incomplete list of Sports Stadiums in South America. The following is an incomplete list of current American football Stadiums. The following is a list of Association football stadia. They are ordered by their capacity, that is the maximum number of spectators that the The following is a list of indoor Arenas. Africa Asia Europe A baseball park, baseball stadium, or ball park / ballpark is the field of play in the game of Baseball and the spectator seating areas The Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the big centrepiece Stadium of the Summer Olympic Games. This article lists the attendances of many sports competitions around the world with the exception of those for Domestic Professional Leagues such as the NFL
- Stadium and Attendances Stadium photos and attendances of soccer and rugby games
Dictionary
stadium
-noun
- A Greek measure of length, being the chief one used for itinerary distances, also adopted by the Romans for nautical and astronomical measurements, equal to 600 Greek or 625 Roman feet, or 125 Roman paces, or to 606 feet, 9 inches.
- Hence, a race course, especially, the Olympic course for foot races.
- A venue where sporting events are held.
- A kind of telemeter for measuring the distance of an object of known dimensions, by observing the angle it subtends.
- In surveying, a graduated rod used to measure the distance of the place where it stands from an instrument having a telescope, by observing the number of the graduations of the rod that are seen between certain parallel wires (stadia wires) in the field of view of the telescope.
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