Comment & Analysis
The new £850 million Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is multi-award winning and sets a new benchmark in global stadium design. The design has incorporated a fully retractable pitch, making this the first in the UK to have a moving grass pitch and the first in the world to custom-build a place to host both football and NFL (American Football) games. In an agreement between the NFL and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club the stadium will host a minimum of two NFL games per year over a 10-year agreed period. With the ability to seat more than 62,000 people the stadium is the biggest club stadium in London. It was officially opened on Wednesday 3 April 2019 with its first Premier League match between Spurs and Crystal Palace. With the long-awaited return of the Premier league after a COVID-19-based delay, in this blog, am going to take a deeper look into the engineering of the stadium and why it is so revolutionary.
UK-based engineering specialists Populous worked with Tottenham to design this new revolutionary stadium. The club's ambition was to create a major sports and entertainment destination which can be used 365 days a year. The stadium has been designed with the importance of creating an unforgettable experience for everyone attending, with an acoustic atmosphere inspired by a concert hall. Spectators are seated closer to the pitch than the average stadium, with stands angled at 35 degrees creating a tighter stadium bowl and generating a ‘wall of sound’.
The two pitch system allows preservation of the natural turf playing surface for football, while providing the preferred playing surface for American football and a durable surface on which to host large events such as concerts. With wireless connection throughout the stadium and the societal importance of social media, fans can upload and share their live experiences.
The elegant appearance of the new stadium is one of a kind. With a glass façade arching upwards revealing a large single-tier home stand, and a curved roof bound together with the stadium structure, the appearance of this new stadium is modern and pleasant on the eye. The façade is responsive to the changing of natural light in line with the multiple events being held here. During the day, the façade’s perforated screens partially mask the events happening inside, whilst at night they act as a lantern, focussing on the activity within.[1]
One of the most discussed features of the stadium is the retractable pitch allowing multi-use functionality. The design has carefully considered technical specifications required for both football and American football. There are even designated facilities for each sport including separate locker rooms and media rooms for the press conferences of the NFL home team. The playing surface sits in three pitch long steel trays weighing more than 3000 tonnes each, powered by 68 electrical motors. In a 25-minute process these trays will separate and roll under the south stands revealing a state-of-the-art artificial grass pitch. There are several systems in place to keep the grass alive and help it grow whilst underneath the south stand, such as lighting to imitate sunlight and cooling systems. One benefit of having this system is that the logos needed on the artificial turf can be easily changed in advance of NFL matches, allowing a quicker and more efficient turn around time between events. Another benefit of this design is the sight line for NFL matches will be improved by raising the front row of seating relative to pitch level, creating a wonderful experience for fans.[1]
Like every project there will always be challenges experienced. I have explored one challenged that was experienced when designing and commissioning the stadium. In a recent article by ‘New Civil Engineer’, Tottenham Hotspur's Head of Moving Structures, Nick Cooper explained that they experienced issues with surrounds of the pitch, their alignment and how this would affect the pitch movement.
Cooper explained,
"The first thing that has to happen to move the pitch is the surrounds and the approach ramps go down to allow the pitch to move over the top. The surrounds must rise or fall by 1.4m and to minimise the chances of failure. It was decided that surrounds for each side of the pitch would move as one single piece”.
The surrounds are vital to the pitch and the game as they present all the relevant advertising and electronic systems to run the match.
“Rather than have multiple sections that move, the solution was to have a complete 120m long truss with all the ramps and everything moving at once, so we can keep all our problem areas in one place,”[2]
Although the surrounds being lowered enables the pitch to be moved, it cannot be moved in one single piece due to the way that South stand of the stadium has been built. This area is a single tier and the seated area is supported by two steel ‘trees’ and piled foundations. The pitch is therefore split into three sections, measuring 30m by 100m.
This stadium has a few additional features that make it even more impressive. The stadium is home to the longest drinks bar in the UK, named the ‘Goal Line Bar’. At 65 metres long, this is one of many bars in the stadium accessible to attendees.[3] The South stand is 34m high and is the UK's biggest single tier stand. It is also home to the largest football club shop in Europe. As 23,000 square feet, fans can get the full ‘Tottenham experience’. Finally, for fans there is a plaque present marking the location of the centre spot to commemorate the old White Hart Lane.[3] There is something for everyone at the new stadium, it will certainly be one to remember and worth a visit when lockdown conditions ease.
1 https://populous.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/POPULOUS_THFC_Media-Kit_SMALL.pdf
2 https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/behind-the-scenes-look-at-tottenhams-retractable-pitch-04-04-2019/
3 https://talksport.com/football/374831/tottenham-hotspur-stadium-news-10-stunning-facts-about-spurs-new-home-180510282214/