Stadiums are often the difference between a happy crowd and a angry crowd. The latter should be avoided at all costs. Rarely, has it been defined, what exactly makes a stadium great. In this post I will take an in depth look at what makes a stadium great.
Playing Surface
Let's talk about grass. Everyone loves a turf field. They're sooo pretty. So does a turf field make a stadium great? Not Necessarily. In contact sports such as rugby and American football, athletes hit the ground almost constantly. So, the deal is, underneath most Turf fields is a solid slab of concrete. So, it adds to the hurt after getting hit. It's the same way in baseball, you go for a slide in the outfield, and it's that much harder to scrape your bones of the turf. That is why I think well manicured Grass is the way to go.
Let's turn to hockey. Ice is just ice. There's not a lot of different kinds of ice. So, I am not going to give a run down about hockey rinks anytime soon.
But wait, my friends, but here comes basketball my friends. There are a lot of different pattern to display wood. On the left is the court of the Boston Celtics. If you look closely, you will see a square pattern. This sticks out and makes the court look unique. However, if you take a common court, say Madison Square Garden, you have your normal court pattern. I tend to prefer the normal pattern, but it depends what interests you.
Spectator Environment
There are small details that makes me, a fan, happy. Obviously there are more tangible factors, like the rowdiness of the fans around me that are hard to control. However, things like that can be somewhat curbed via a good security staff. However, there are lots of intangibles that should be discussed.
The most crucial, overlooked stadia detail in my opinion, is the presence, or lack of, cup holders. I can't say how many times I have bought a soda and had to put it underneath my seat or next to my foot where it is just waiting to be knocked over and spilled. Cup holders are small details that make a fan's experience just that more comfortable.
Staying on the topic of food/drink, concessions also make a fan happy. As a stadium owner, you want to have a good variety of choices, from just snacks to small meals such as hot dogs or sandwiches. A good strategy would be to partner with fast food restaurants such as Subway to provide food during your games.
On a different note, seats are a big part of keeping spectators happy. Seats need to be big enough to accommodate a man on the heavy side, but you don't need to go out of your way to appease a person who is 100+ pounds overweight. Also, you need to keep your seats maintained; there's nothing worse then a seat that squeaks as you sit in it.
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