The World Cup Final, the first-ever to be staged on a revolutionary hi-tech playing surface, is set to deliver a multi-million pound boost to SIS Pitches. Read more
The World Cup Final, the first-ever to be staged on a revolutionary hi-tech playing surface, is set to deliver a multi-million pound boost to SIS Pitches. Read more
Spanish company IASO S.A. has been at the forefront of the manufacture and installation of the roof of the Zenit Arena in St. Petersburg, Russia. Read more
RheinEnergie has extended its naming rights deal for FC Köln’s stadium until 2024, despite the team being relegated to the second tier of German football. Read more
Morocco has put forward a bid to host the 2026 World Cup, which includes using existing stadia and building several new modular venues as well. Read more
International experts have met in Lyon, France, to discuss anti-terrorism measures and better ways to improve the safety and security of fans at sports events around the world. Read more
Gianni Infantino made his first visit as FIFA President to the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ host country earlier this month. Proceedings kicked off with a tour of the country’s largest and most iconic stadium the Luzhniki Stadium, where he received a comprehensive update on the excellent progress of the refurbishment work at this, the venue for both the Opening Match and Final match of Russia 2018, from Moscow’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
Award-winning global stadium experts and international structural engineering firm, schlaich bergermann und partner (sbp), has engineered state-of-the-art lightweight roofs for three 2014 FIFA World Cup host stadiums in Brazil: Estádio Jornalista Mario Filho in Rio de Janiero, known as the Estádio do Maracanã and considered Brazil’s “Holy Temple of Football”; the Mané Garrincha Estádio Nacional in Brasília; and the new Arena da Amazônia in Manaus.
The Maracanã and the Estádio Nacional are Brazil’s two largest stadiums, respectively. To date, including these projects, sbp has engineered 14 world-class FIFA Cup stadia.
Since 2008, the team has worked with officials in Brazil to advise on upgrades and refurbishments to the Rio and Brasilia stadiums, as well as designing new, lightweight roofs for these venues. The firm also served as advisors to FIFA, organisers of the World Cup, for stadium standards nationwide.
The firm provided roof design, structural engineering and site supervision for the Estádio do Maracanã, Estádio Nacional, and Arena da Amazônia stadiums. Of the three, the Estádio do Maracanã and Estádio Nacional are existing stadiums and international icons and the Arena da Amazônia is a newly-built stadium for Brazil 2014.
One of sbp’s lightweight roof design approaches is based on the principle of a horizontally oriented spoked wheel. The circular roof structure is comprised of high-strength cables connecting inner “tension rings” at the centre of the circle to an outer rim, or “compression ring”. The cable “spokes”, which are allocated at the inner edge of the roof, are tightened between the outer compression ring and the tension rings, creating a lightweight, almost floating roof. This revolutionary, lightweight design approach uses less steel than in conventional stadium roof structures. Additionally, these types of roofs can be erected relatively quickly; in many cases, they can be erected in between seasons.
Michael Stein, Managing Director of sbp in New York, commented:
The legendary Estádio do Maracanã along with the Estádio Nacional and Arena da Amazônia each posed unique design challenges for our team. Through three different designs developed from our lightweight structural approach we were able to address each of these challenges successfully. We are delighted to continue our legacy of engineering stadia that will host the FIFA World Cup and to bring a 21st-century approach to designing roofs for these seminal Brazilian stadiums.
This week, organisers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup have announced they are seriously considering reducing the number of host venues down from twelve to as few as eight, with Umm Salal stadium (pictured above) being one of several venue designs that may not now come to fruition.
In a statement, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy for the 2022 FIFA World Cup cited the size of the host nation as a factor in this decision: “The process of selecting the final proposed line-up of host venues is ongoing in consultation with FIFA. Given the size of our country, FIFA and the Local Organising Committee decided to look into reducing the originally proposed 12 venues to fit the country’s specifications, while ensuring best playing conditions for all 64 matches.”
The statement also reiterated the fact that eight is the minimum number of stadiums generally accepted by FIFA for the hosting of a World Cup: “The 2022 Local Organising Committee will submit, by December 2014, a proposal for an appropriate number of host venues, whilst ensuring a suitable legacy for the country and the national league after the tournament. The approval of the final number of stadiums is envisaged by the FIFA Executive Committee by March 2015.”