Stadia fit for the World Cup

On 11th June this year, millions of eyes from all over the world will be trained on Johannesburg’s magnificent new Soccer City Stadium to see the opening fixture of FIFA’s showcase World Cup event.

While fans at home will no doubt be watching the spectacle on TV monitors big and small, those lucky enough to be in South Africa for the world’s largest single-sport event will have an experience until now never enjoyed in that part of the world.

Six of the stadium venues being used for the 2010 World Cup will be brand new or substantially refurbished to bring them in line with modern European standards. Fans will be able to sit closer to the pitch and enjoy first-rate facilities, but perhaps most importantly, they will be able to attend football matches with fewer concerns about safety and security.

Many of the practices and techniques that have enabled this revolution in the standards of South African stadia have come through lessons learned on projects from the previous World Cup held in Germany and from the construction of first-rate venues in the UK.

The Emirates and Wembley stadiums in London have set the benchmark for a world-class spectator experience, offering clean, safe, modern spaces for visitors to not only watch the game but enjoy plenty of facilities where they can eat, drink, socialise and soak up the atmosphere.

When considering the sheer numbers of people that descend on match and event days, how to move them safely to, around and away is critical to the success of the modern stadia. During Steer Davies Gleave’s long-term involvement with both projects, we provided vital input on the stadiums’ designs in terms of accessibility and ensured effective control of crowd and traffic flow in and around the stadiums.

By improving the overall spectator experience, the stadiums attract more visitors and become venues that can used for more than just sport. It is this model that gives stadia a genuine, viable financial legacy and which is being used in South Africa, where we have worked with both Soccer City, and the new Durban Stadium. But before a ball is even kicked in South Africa, much attention is already focusing on the 2014 World Cup host: Brazil.

As a country obsessed by football and regular winners of the World Cup trophy, Brazil is an obvious choice to host the event. It is this passion combined with their economic stability and a rapidly expanding middle class that make their stadium development programme for the 2014 World Cup an essential step in changing the way the sport is currently viewed in their country.

Fears over spectator safety, and the shortage of home-grown talent left in the Brazilian leagues have resulted in dwindling attendances at most stadia. The investment in European standard upgrades of venues and their transport facilities for the World Cup represents a great opportunity to encourage spectators back to stadiums, and put the game back on a solid financial footing in Brazil.

Brazil will use 12 venues for the tournament, the majority of which will be new or subject to significant upgrades. Drawing on our European experience and our Sao Paulo team’s local expertise, Steer Davies Gleave has been contracted to five of the stadium design teams.

We will build on our project experience in London and South Africa to help the architects and stadium operators improve safety, incorporate FIFA’s requirements, and critically, to ensure the spectator experience remains central to the design process. As we wait to see how the new stadia in South Africa are received by the world’s media, Steer Davies Gleave will be hoping to bring that experience to bear back in the UK as we work with the Football Association on the bid to bring the World Cup to England in 2018. Once the bid is submitted, we will be eagerly awaiting the announcement of the decision in November 2010.