Issue 77: Stadium and Arena Design
By Kevin Morin, P.E. P.E.
As the architectural and engineering designs o stadiums and arenas have evolved, so too have the challenges or the !re "rotection engineer. engineer. Stadiums and arenas are no longer used only or "artici"ant s"orting events and concerts. #hese acilities have $ecome destination locations and no% cater to year&round use, %ith restaurant acilities, $an'uet halls and conerence ca"a$ilities. ca"a$ilitie s. #he ne% ha(ards associated %ith these uses must $e addressed $y the design team and the ! re "rotection engineer, in addition to the traditional ha(ards associated %ith large assem$ly uses in a $uilding %ith non&traditional uel loads.
#he "o"ular multi&use s"orts s"orts acility o o the )*+s and and )*7s, intended intended to accommodate multi"le s"orting events such as $ase$all and oot$all, have largely $een re"laced $y s"ort&s"eci!c s"ort&s"eci!c acilities. #hese s"ort&s"eci!c s"ort&s"eci!c acilities have modern amenities amenities that are designed designed to attract non&s"orts non&s"orts uses. #he amenity s"aces include outdoor terrace areas, lu-ury clu$ and suite s"aces, lecture halls and s"onsor/ rooms. Events range rom rom "rivate events, such as %eddings, %eddings, to 0o$ airs, airs, guest lectures and cor"orate events. Most, i not all, o these events are on non& game days %hen $uilding sta1 is limited.
Stadium and arena designs must com"ly %ith the a""lica$le !re "rotection and lie saety re'uirements re'uirements %hen the $uilding is ully&occu"ied and ully&sta1ed or ma0or s"orting and concert concert events. 2o%ever, it is im"ortant im"ortant that the designs also also com"ly during non&game day/ events %hen the acility is not ully&sta1ed, ully&sta1ed, and some "ortions o the acility may $e unavaila$le to the "u$lic.
It is necessary or the !re "rotection engineer to understand the intended uses and the 3e-i$ility re'uired or non&game day events. 4ollo%ing are some o the elements that should $e considered.
Egress Availa$ility 5lu$ and suite levels levels are desira$le desira$le locations or non&game non&game day events. #hese s"aces are oten designed %ith means o egress through the seating $o%l or the "u$lic concourses. 4or security reasons, on non&game days, access to "ortions o the seating $o%l and the concourses may $e restricted. #he re'uired num$er o e-its, e-it ca"acity and egress travel distance limitations must continue to $e satis!ed %ith the availa$le e-its. e-its. In addition, the e-it discharge discharge to the e-terior and the "u$lic %ay must have unrestricted access.
Smo6e&Protected Assem$ly Seating #he smo6e&"rotected smo6e&"rotected assem$ly assem$ly seating seating "rovisions "rovisions o the model model codes are are ty"ically used in the design o stadiums and arenas. #he smo6e&"rotected assem$ly seating "rovisions are a design o"tion that "ermits reduced e-it ca"acity actors and increased e-it travel distances "rovided that the means o egress are "rotected
accordingly. #he smo6e control systems must $e designed to maintain the smo6e level at least + eet ).8 m9 a$ove the means o egress. hen using the smo6e&"rotected assem$ly seating "rovisions, a lie saety evaluation must $e com"leted. #his includes a %ritten assessment o, among other things, the nature o the events and the "artici"ants and attendees, !re ha(ards, and the relationshi"s among acility management, event "artici"ants, and emergency res"onse agencies.
5om"le- smo6e control systems are oten critical com"onents o achieving com"liance %ith the smo6e&"rotected assem$ly seating "rovisions. #he smo6e control systems rely on strategic locations or smo6e e-haust and ma6e&u" air. #em"orary "artitions, restricted doors or changes to uel loads can alter the "erormance o the smo6e control system and result in a s"ace that no longer com"lies %ith the "rovisions or smo6e&"rotected assem$ly seating. All "otential events, uel loads and security restrictions should $e considered %hen designing the smo6e control systems or s"aces that may $e used or non&game events. 5ommunication $et%een the stadium o"erators and the design team is necessary to identiy the non&game events are must $e accommodated in the design.
Structural 4ire Protection In many $uildings, structural !re "rotection is "rovided as re'uired $y $uilding codes %ithout urther analysis. Due to the si(e and nature o stadiums, structural !re "rotection is oten designed $ased on engineering analyses o the antici"ated !re e-"osures. #he uel load "resent during s"orting events is ty"ically considered, since that is the "rimary use o the $uilding. 2o%ever, the uel load $rought into the $uilding or other events may "ose a more severe e-"osure to the structure. #hus, the !re "rotection engineer should %or6 closely %ith the $uilding o"erator to understand the uel loads that may $e introduced into the $uilding and to communicate any limitations on the uses %ithin the $uilding.
S"rin6ler Protection hen selecting the ha(ard classi!cation or the design o the s"rin6ler systems, all "otential non&game day events must $e considered. A game day event %ith limited com$usti$le materials on the concourses may $e di1erent than a cor"orate event, %edding, or convention %ith a more signi!cant uel load. In addition, s"rin6ler "rotection is sometimes omitted rom outdoor stadium concourses due to the limited uel load and the o""ortunities or the natural ventilation o smo6e and heat. #his may not $e the case or s"ecial events %hich introduce com$usti$le materials or tem"orary enclosures.
;ccu"ant
In addition, to avoid an unnecessary ull $uilding evacuation, a "ositive alarm se'uence is oten used in stadiums and arenas. Positive alarm se'uence "ermits ac6no%ledgement o an alarm and an investigation "eriod o u" to )8 seconds $eore an alarm signal is initiated. Although this may $e a""ro"riate during a game day event, this may not $e a""ro"riate or a non&game day event. Su=cient sta1 may not $e availa$le to ade'uately investigate the alarm, causing an unnecessary delay in occu"ant noti!cation.
Sta=ng 4acility sta1 are critical or the !re "rotection and lie saety o $uilding occu"ants during game day events. #he acility sta1 have o"erational "rotocols or cro%d control, security, %ay&!nding, systems monitoring, and oten times they have the only access to manual "ull stations and !re e-tinguishers. A stadium or arena is not li6ely to $e ully&sta1ed or non&game events, %hich re'uires modi!cations to the emergency o"erations "rocedures that are develo"ed or game&day events.
As %ith all multi&use $uildings, the !re "rotection engineer must contem"late all reasona$le uses o the s"aces %ithin the $uilding %hen considering the !re "rotection and lie saety systems. #his has $ecome increasingly im"ortant %ith stadium and arena acilities as ne% amenities are introduced and acilities loo6 to ca"itali(e on year&round use. 5are must $e ta6en to ade'uately address ho% the acility unctions during a non&game event or system "erormance and rom a sta=ng "ers"ective.
Kevin Morin is %ith 5ode 5onsultants Proessional Engineers, P5
