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Jonathan F Hughes07039013Module: U30099Date Submitted: 5 01 2010

Do stadia have a positive effect on their surrounding

community?

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Contents

01Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0202The Match Day Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1103Stadia Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1804Community Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2705Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

06Image References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4207Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4408References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

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01Introduction

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Introduction

As R.K. Sheard states in the foreword of the book STA-DIA, ARENAS & GRANDSTANDS, he believes there are three generations in the development of stadia.1 The first generation originated in the mid 19th century when the informal games play by small communities and the upper classes started to become organised, thus forming the rules of modern sport. This coordina-tion of sport led to a zenith of spectators watching live action in the mid-20th century. This was the first gen-eration of the modern stadium, where paper ticketing was the key to financial success and thus the phrase ‘BUMS ON SEATS’ was born.2

Commerciality was the spark igniting the second gen-eration of stadia development. In 1937 television be-gan the revolution to broadcast live sport across the globe,3 meaning the number of spectators stood on the terraces and sat in the stands began to decrease. This meant stadia design had to take a huge step forward

to re-gather the attention of customers, which the transition to organised sport initially gave. The most important factors were headed by comfort and safety; a more comfortable stadium meant a larger range of customers would attend, whilst safety may well have been the deciding factor currently keeping the border-line sport watchers away. This second generation of stadia put precedence on using the concourse to their full advantage, fitting more people into the stadium, ultimately making more profit. Spend per head was the key.4

The third generation is where stadium design is at to-day. ‘Entertainment’ is the word that steps up as the new most important factor in stadium design. Sports have now become a massive profiteering business. With a league match ticket at Old Trafford, home to Manchester United Football Club, costing around £36,5 and with an average attendance of nearly 77,000, this

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Introduction

gives the football club a gross profit of over £2.7m, let alone programme sales, food sales, and merchandise. This makes the new customer wonder just what they are getting for their £36 on the day. And this is where the development of third generation stadia becomes so important. The match day is not about looking at the pitch for 90 minutes, watching 5 sets, or scrutinis-ing the work of the bowlers after 50 overs at Lords. The experience is created from the moment the structure in which the event is taking place first enters the eye line. The service at the stadium is the key. The stadi-um is not designed for summer or winter, rain or sun, young or old, nor football or rugby; they are designed in order to cater for as many events and as wider range of audience as possible.

‘Entertainment is the aim and ‘service’ is the method.’6

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Introduction

But it was well before the first generation of modern stadia that the concept of a large structure was shaped in order to provide a place for people to watch an event. Arguably the most famous stadium in the world took nearly 10 years to complete and was eventually finished in the 1st Century AD.7 It still stands in Rome to this day, although damaged by 2000 years of use, misuse, and non-use. Its main function, among ani-mal hunts, mock comic fights, and music and poetry recitals, was for gladiatorial combat. The origins of this event are still unclear, but there lies a story about a man named Decimus Brutus Pera, who died in 264 BC.8

Human sacrifice at funerals of noble men was nothing new, but the sons initiated a new trend that involved 3 pairs of men fighting each other simultaneously, al-ways ending in death. This form of entertainment soon became publicised, taking on a larger format, involv-

ing more gladiators, innocents, and the introduction of animals such as tigers and lions. The massive form of entertainment needed a massive structure to host it, and thus the Flavian Amphitheatre was created. The Flavian Amphitheatre, or Colosseum, was capable of holding 50,000 people, all seated on tiered stone steps.9 And on a sunny day, with a huge event such as the Gladatorial Games, the 50,000 patrons would flood through the 80 numbered arches, or Vomitoria,10 something that is surprisingly comparable to today’s, third generation stadia; the use of gates all around the stadium.

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Introduction

Since the construction of the Flavian Amphitheatre, designers have only learnt from its form and function.

As J J A Tolloczko writes in his book, Stadia, Arenas &Grandstands – Design, Construction and Operation:

‘The rise and fall of the Roman stadia hold an important lesson for today’s developers and de-signers. Success requires well-designed venues offering good viewing and facilities and an exciting atmosphere. Lasting

success may also require long-term flexibility. If you venue re-lies totally on football and foot-ball loses popularity it becomes redundant.’11

The above paragraph explains how the Roman struc-tures of over 2000 years ago are still influencing to-day’s new designs massively, despite the huge progres-sion in technology.

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Another point made by Tolloczko is outlined below:

‘All designs benefit from optimi-sation whether in the calcula-tions of sightlines, the selection of durable, cost effective roof coverings or in the provision of toilet facilities. Design optimisa-tion should be a key feature of sustainable development. If your sightlines are poor, or your row

widths too narrow, your stadi-um will become obsolete earlier than a venue designed to appro-priate standards. If your cheap roof covering fails and has to be replaced after ten years its cost in use and long term sustain-ability is probably lower than a more expensive but more dura-ble roof.’12

This proves that new stadiums are beginning to cost more and more money, yet they are being designed

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Introduction

to last for much longer periods of time. They are also being designed to be available for much more varied events, meaning the large costs will be recovered in a much shorter period of time. This dissertation will look at two very recently built stadiums and look at wheth-er they have been designed in order to cater for many more events, whilst providing a fantastic experience for all participating. It will also look at older stadiums and identify their downfalls, as well as their merits, in order to compare and contrast with their new, more modern counterparts.

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Introduction

By using the book ‘The Premiership Match Day Expe-rience – Through the Eyes of a Tiger’, written by Hull City Fan, Paul Collingwood, this dissertation will look at the encounters of the author and draw upon the differ-ences and similarities of various stadiums around the country. I will also use my own experience of stadia to make an informed judgement, including a visit to a large European football stadium, Estádio do Dragão, where FC Porto are based, in Portugal. Estádio do Dragão was constructed in 2003, seats 50,000 people,13 and is used at least 3 times a week for football matches as well as other events. I recently watched a Portuguese Liga (Portuguese top flight) match versus Paços de Ferreira, ending in a 1-1 draw with an attendance of 36,974.

Another aspect covered in this dissertation will be an insight into the community projects organized by foot-ball clubs. The history of community involvement will be explored using the document named ‘Study of Pub-

lic and Commercial Use of Football Stadia’, prepared by Horwath Consulting. This document was compiled in 1994 and is a brilliant indication of whether com-munities across England have benefitted from football clubs running events and activities aimed at underpriv-ileged areas, as well as women, children and ethnic mi-norities. The report was prepared for the Sports Coun-cil, with the council being quoted as ensuring ‘Better Quality Sport for all’.14 This means providing the public with the best chance to access sports facilities and op-portunities, be it as a spectator of participant. The re-port will provide important information and hopefully help answer the question;

‘Does the design and operation of stadia have a positive effect on the surrounding community?’

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02The Match Day Experience

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The Match Day Experience

The Match Day Experience – The English PremiershipIn the book written by the avid football fan, Paul Col-lingwood called ‘The Premiership Match Day Experi-ence’, a detailed account of each current premiership ground is given. The author visited each stadium dur-ing the 2008/2009 season, as a Hull City FC fan. In the introduction to the book Collingwood writes that he will judge each ground experience in 5 categories;

Accessibility – The ease of locating the stadium, sign-posting, parking, and a quick departure.

Facilities – food and drink experiences play a big part in the enjoyment of a match day. The amount of pubs in the surrounding area is important as it should be relative to the amount of fans occupying them before and after the match. Food outlets must be in plenti-ful supply as queuing on match days can become ex-tremely tiresome.

The Stadium – Is the architecture in good condition? Is it clean? Is it tidy? Are the seats comfortable? How easy is it to find your seat? First impressions account for a lot.

The Match – Incidents of interest make a good game. Episodes such as a song, fights, injuries, sending offs, and pitch invasions are things that are considered to provide the highest amount of enjoyment. Good goals are the most important ingredient in the overall satis-faction in the stands.

Character – This category looks as the feel of the ground. Older grounds usually have more character, with hundreds of thousands of fans setting foot in the stands every year. Older stadiums begin to get worn with the weekly usage and people begin to make their own marks. Modern stadiums gain points for design and flow. They tend to have information printed on

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bare concrete walls showcasing the amount of hon-ours the club has received in their long histories, along with images of famous events and renowned players classed as heroes by the locals. It is usually the fans that give a stadium its character.15

By marking each category out of ten Collingwood is able to mark each experience out of fifty. And thus make a judgement of which stadium is best to visit. One of the downfalls of the book is the fact that the author writes it as a biased fan. He also openly admits that he is easily swayed by disassociated events that occur on the day. For example he writes that

‘if it’s freezing cold, bucketing down with rain, my car breaks down and (Hull) City get stuffed,

the rating won’t be too high.’16

This means that when using Collingwood’s findings it is best if the rating out of ten given for the match that is discounted. It isn’t really relative to the actual experi-ence given by the staff, comfort, facilities, and most of all the architecture of the stadium. The remaining four categories, accessibility, facilities, the stadium, and character, are all very relevant, meaning an informed judgement can be made.

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The Emirates Stadium [Arsenal FC]In Collingwood’s account of his visit to the emirates stadium, he starts initially by rating the accessibility of the stadium with a score of 7 out of 10. This im-plies it was relatively easy to drive to, and easy to park. However, Collingwood writes that he is a resident of Hemel Hempstead, approximately 30 miles outside of the centre of London. Thus the favoured mode of transport was the train to Euston, followed by the use of the Tube Network. Collingwood states that the stop Watford Junction Tube Station brings a considerable amount of ‘red shirted glory seeking Arsenal fans’17

page 16 that Collingwood bitterly describes as traitors and they should really be travelling to Sheffield that day to watch their ‘real team’,18 page 16 Watford FC, that afternoon. The fact Collingwood openly criticizes these fans alone proves that the appeal of the Emirates ‘micro-community’ has the ability to capture hundreds of people spanning across a huge catchment area. Ob-

viously, there are fans across the country that support Arsenal FC, but the appeal of a brand new stadium is probably the deciding factor when children grow up with their parents supporting the home clubs. Colling-wood writes that he is accompanied on each of these visits by his 9 year old son. And after a tube journey to the Highbury & Islington Tube Station, it is a 15 minute walk before you set eyes on the new stadium. At this point, the author writes that his son immediately ex-claimed ‘it’s better than Wembley’19 page 18. On the exterior of the spaceship like structure are huge red letters expressing the name of the football club that the stadium houses. This imposing lettering forces two polar emotions. It can have the effect of warming a life long Arsenal fans heart, yet also force a travelling away fan to whimper in fear at the thought of losing heavily that day. Collingwood goes on to compare the impos-ing exterior of the emirates stadium to its North-West counterpart, Wembley stadium. The author delivers a

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crushing blow by stating the fact that the large Arse-nal FC badges attached to the concrete fascias facing North and South are a great deal better than the bland exterior of Wembley, that ‘just seemed to be a lot of glass’20 page 18. If the arch weren’t to be there, Col-lingwood is of the opinion that the stadium would just look like a standard shopping complex. The massive announcement roared by the large badge and text just corroborates the pride that the club contains, and the fact it is willing to show it in the loudest way possible. Statements like these can often be classed as vulgar and obscene but the Emirates manages to retain its class with this statement without coming across as ar-rogant or brash. It is an immediate sign of character that alienates only the travelling away fans in the most sporting of manners.

Once the initial ticket checks have been done by the security at each gate of the stadium, you are then un-

derneath the tiered seating of the stadium. Each gate ushers you towards a grand staircase that starts you on our journey to your seat for the game. At each staircase there is a printed map that shows the four coloured quadrants of the seating within the stadium. Figure. Once the appropriate section is found you must insert your ticket into an electronic machine, similar to that which you would see at train stations across Lon-don. This alone is a new concept at football stadiums. It’s relatively easy to forge a ticket or pass for a football match if you know what you’re doing, especially in de-cades gone by. In preparation for the FIFA World Cup of 2010, FIFA designed the tickets with seven security measures, and claimed that the new tickets are ‘im-possible to forge’.21 An event like the FIFA World Cup is a highly profitable event, and with the world playing football every week, most clubs have now implicated bar codes on their tickets, a simple way to prevent ‘easy’ forgeries.

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Once the seats have been found it is only then that you realise quite how much the comfort of the spectators has been thought about. There are obviously the pad-ded seats that keep you from fidgeting quite as much during the excitement, but it’s the more subtle aspect of the Emirates Stadium that makes the experience more than satisfying. The leg room in unsurpassable and the view from virtually all areas of the stadium is uncompromised. The gradient up the steps to the high-est seat is obviously tiring but it is sympathetic along the way, with the ratio of flat to steps swaying kindly towards the climber seated in row Z. At this point Col-lingwood states;

‘There is half an hour to kick off, and the stands are sparsely pop-ulated, but it is still a terrific view.

I give myself the customary pinch on the arm. Good, it hurts, so I’m not dreaming. Hull City really are coming to grounds like this to play Premiership Football.’22

This shows that at this moment in time, spectators ex-pectations have already been surpassed by the newest in stadium design. The old stadia will eventually be-come obsolete and get left behind when new stadia, such as the emirates begin to surpass the common, and maybe traditional, perception of what the experi-ence of watching a football game should be like.

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03Stadia Criteria

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Stadia Criteria

Digest of Stadia Criteria - Spectator Accommodation and CapacitiesOver the years stadium standards have changed dra-matically. From the earliest of roman times when the spectators were provided only with stone steps upon which to sit, up until the padded seat, extended leg room, standards we see today. Much discussion has taken place as to the type of spectator accommoda-tion required (seating or standing, covered or uncov-ered), along with the minimum capacities stipulated, for individual football competitions across the globe. The figures and statistics stated are outlined by both FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Associa-tion (International Federation of Association Football)) and UEFA (Union of European Football Associations). The statistics can be found in the publication named ‘Digest of Stadia Criteria, compiled by the Football Sta-dia Advisory Design Council.

For several reasons, the most important factor of a sta-dium is the capacity. The more people in the stands, the more profit is made, the happier people are, and the better the reputation of football worldwide. A ca-pacity of a stadium usually goes hand in had with the popularity and success of the football club that play inside. And so every 4 years when the FIFA World Cup comes around, a different nation must step up and make available several stadia with the appropri-ate standards of spectator accommodation, set out by FIFA and UEFA. In part 4.1 of the digest, it is stated that FIFA’s minimum requirement for the 1998 World Cup Finals held in France, were as follows:

Matches of the first and second rounds 30,000

Opening match, semi-finals and final 60,00023

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Although these standards are not strictly enforced, it is unlikely a hosting nation will fail to comply with the regulations. However, FIFA is eager to point out that these standards should not be a restricting factor for smaller nations to host the competition as it may be seen as unfair behaviour.

Accommodation is another important factor that comes under FIFA’s guidelines. The comfort of the spectator is extremely important to the enjoyment of the event. If a spectator find their seat too hard, their view of the pitch restricted, or the leg room too little, they are unlikely to attend that stadium again. FIFA’s guidelines are as follows:

Seats: All spectators must be seated in individually numbered seats.

Cover: The main grandstand and press box must be undercover.

Terracing: Not permitted.

Officials and VIPs: No specific numbers are stipulated. Yet FIFA outline in their regulations for new stadia that a minimum of 200 seats, with the possibility of increas-ing that number ‘considerably’ for major events such as the World Cup. At the Italian FIFA World Cup in 1990, the VIP areas varied from 380-1100, the average being 585. The seats for officials and VIPs should be covered, in the centre of the Main Stand, partitioned from the public seating areas and served by a private entrance, separate from public entrance points.24

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Stadia Criteria

These criteria go without saying nowadays, with each new stadium, especially in Europe, being designed with competitions such as the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League in mind. New stadia will almost definitely have copious amounts of legroom, padded seats and recently, a closing roof, all designed to make the spectator as comfortable as possible.

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Stadia Criteria

Refreshment Provision for SpectatorsEach individual competition lays down minimum re-quirements for the provision of refreshment facilities for spectators, players, officials, directors and guests, although a level of provision will obviously vary ac-cording to the size of stadium and the level of the com-petition. The requirements are summarised below:

• Each segregated area should be served by re-freshment facilities.• All refreshment areas must be clearly sign-posted.• There should be a refreshment room or access to a lounge area for players.• There should be a guest room for entertaining visitors and guests of the club.25

It is pretty obvious that there should be a wide range of refreshments available, as well as them being easily accessible. The easier they are to access and the bet-ter they are signposted, the less congestion will occur during half time breaks and intervals. If the flow is cal-culated correctly, and the gangways designed appro-priately, then there is no reason why the refreshment area of any stadium cannot meet the demands of a full capacity crowd. Obviously, in theory, this is an ideal sit-uation, but problems start to occur when human error comes into account.

In the web log written by football fanatic Nick Hodge, during a 15 minute half time break at the newly con-structed Wembley Stadium in London, the staff at the stadium-run fish and chip stall only managed to serve 8 people in between the end of the first half, and the beginning of the second.26 This is obviously an anoma-ly in what should be the smooth running of a fast food

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Stadia Criteria

outlet, but it shines a bad light on the stadium for mat-ters outside of their control. Hodge states that the out-let was incredibly easy to find and a one way system was employed around the food outlet area in order to prevent congestion on the way back to your seat. In this respect, Wembley has been designed perfectly, in order to get the spectator from and back to their seat in the shortest amount of time, with the acquirement of hot food.

Wembley has been a renowned name in football since the original stadium was finished in 1923. Its original capacity was 127,000, but due to restrictions on the amount of standing area allowed, it was later reduced to 82,000.27 The twin towers stood iconic on the Lon-don skyline for 77 years, when in 2000, plans for a new super stadium were released and the old Wembley was demolished.

The new stadiums arch now stands as iconic, if not more, on the London Skyline. The architects strived to gain perfect views for their spectators and it is said that there isn’t a bad seat in the house.

Stadia Criteria

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Interesting Facts and Figures about Wembley Stadium

1. With 90,000 seats the new Wembley is the largest football stadium in the world with every seat under cover. 2. The arch is 133 meters above the level of the external concourse.3. The stadium roof rises to 52 meters above the pitch. This compares to the 35 meters tall Twin Towers of the old stadium.4. The new Wembley has a circumference of 1 km.5. The London Eye could fit between the top of the arch and the pitch.6. The new roof will be over 11 acres. Four acres are moveable.7. The rows of seating, if placed end to end, would stretch 54 kilometers.8. 4,000 separate piles will form the foundations of the new stadium. The deepest of these, at 35 meters, is as deep as the Twin Towers were tall.9. There will be 35 miles of heavy-duty power cables in the stadium.10. With a span of 315 Meters, the arch will be the lon-gest single span roof structure in the world.

11. With a diameter of 7.4 meters the arch is wide enough for a Channel Tunnel train to run through.12. 90,000m3 of concrete and 23,000 tons of steel will be used in the construction of the new stadium.13. The roof alone will weigh almost 7,000 tones.14. At peak construction there will be 2,000+ people working on site.15. The new pitch will be 4 meters lower than the previ-ous pitch.16. Each of the two giant screens in new stadium is the size of 600 domestic television sets.17. The new Wembley encloses 4,000,000 m3 (cubic meters) inside its walls and under its roof. This is the equivalent of 25,000 double decker buses or 7 billion pints of milk.18. The total length of the escalators will be the same as a 400 meter running track.19. There will be 2,618 toilets - which WNSL estimate is more than any other stadium in the world.20. There is more leg room in EVERY seat in the new Wembley Stadium than there was in the Royal Box of the old stadium.28

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04Community Involvement

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Community Involvement

In ‘Study of Public and Commercial Use of Football Stadia’, prepared by Horwath Consulting, large num-bers of individuals and organisations have given advice and help in order to compile the study. Most of the or-ganisations involved were football clubs across the UK, providing much useful information about their club fa-cilities and activities. The study was begun in 1992 by the Sports Council’s consultants, Howarth Consulting and took nearly two years to compile, with informa-tion still being added after the first publication.

In part 3.6 of the report, on page 38, it is stated that:

‘At Millwall Football Club, com-munity use is very much related to the socio-demographic profile

of the area and the social prob-lems which exist within inner city area such as South East London. The initiatives undertaken by the club are generally not main-stream, they include all sectors of the community including young offenders, the unemployed, drug users and other disadvantaged groups. It is specifically target-ed at groups who under normal

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Community Involvement

circumstances would not par-ticipate in sport or demonstrate little interest in football.’29

The Milwall Football Club stadium, built in 1993, has a capacity of 20,146 and is located in Bermondsey, South East London. It is also adjacent to the railway line be-tween London Bridge and New Cross Gate, giving it plenty of direct travel links from virtually anywhere in the country. However it is the surrounding area of the stadium that Millwall Football Club’s Community Scheme is targeting. The club operates several differ-ent initiatives across London including currently [Jan 2010] promoting the ‘Millwall Street Pro Programme’, a programme open to 12-18 year olds, male or female. The programme consists of a series of 5-a-side football games taking place across various venues in South Lon-

don. It gives the children living in the surrounding area of Millwall football club a chance to differ from their daily routine. Instead of going to the park with their friends to play football, they can play against other similarly minded children for a couple of hours every Friday from Friday 9th January 2009 to Friday. There are opportunities for the more talented children to be-come scouted by local football clubs, giving the chance to go on to become famous figures in the public eye of sport. Most of the underprivileged children in London have grown up with football as one of their getaways from a deprived upbringing and thus most children have idolised a professional footballer at some point in their childhood. The opportunities given to these children give them a perfect platform to build on for their future.

AGED 12-18?

Male or Female?

MILLWALL

STREET PROPROGRAMME

For more information please contact

Richard White at Millwall Community Scheme on

020 7740 0503

richardw@millwallcommunity.co.uk

Start Date: Fri 9th Jan 2009

End Date: Fri 26th Mar 2010

For more information please contact Richard White at Millwall Community Scheme on

020 7740 0503 richardw@millwallcommunity.co.uk

FREE 5-a-side Football Every Friday @

ROTHERHITHE

CAMBERWELL

BOROUGH

PECKHAM

WALWORTH

Information about Millwall Street Pro

programme

DULWICH

BERMONDSEY

Redriff School

Outdoor Astroturf PitchSalter RoadSE16 5LQ

6-9pm

St Michael & All AngelsAcademy

Farmers RoadSE5 0UB

6-8pm

Geraldine MaryHarmsworth Sports

Centre

St Georges RoadSE1 6ER

6-8pm

Burgess Park Astroturf

Neate StreetOff Trafalgar Avenue

SE5 1YU

6-8pm

St Michaels RC School

John Felton RoadBermondseySE16 4UN

6-8pm

Damilola Taylor Centre

East Surrey GroveSE15 6DR

6-9pm

Alleyn’s School

Townley RoadSE22 8SU

7-9pm

MILLWALL STREET PROPROGRAMME

• Turnupinyourteamorasindividuals

•ScoutingOpportunities

•FALevel1andVolunteeropportunitiesforages16+

•FreeticketstoselectedMillwallhomefixtures

•YouthForum

Community Involvement

31

In 1986 the PFA (Professional Footballer’s Association) launched an initiative to encourage football clubs in the Football League to become more involved in their surrounding communities by increasing aspects such as public access to facilities and encouraging the lo-cal population to attend matches at their stadia and grounds.30 The PFA gained support from the Football League in order to forward this initiative. With the Football League being the body that controls the dif-ferent levels of the competition. It was founded in 1888 and holds the title of the oldest football league in the world. It lasted until 1992 when the top 22 teams split from the rest and became The Premier League and the remaining 72 teams settled into 3 leagues of 24 teams. The initiative placed particular emphasis on the improvement of connections between football clubs and educational establishments through coach-ing sessions, visits to matches, and meetings at local schools involving the players of the clubs. To this day

the Football League, and the co-operating clubs retain the view that the initiative has been very successful, but credit much of the success to the funding provided by the Football Trust. This government funded body was established in order to improve the safety of sport stadiums in the United Kingdom. Set up by the Labour Party Government in 1975, the money came from the pools companies and the Football League. The original reason for the foundation was to improve the safety of football stadiums after such incidents as that at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, the home of Rangers Football Club, where was a crush to get through a gate after a local derby between Rangers and Celtic. 66 people died in the accident.31 Incident such as these were what the Football Trust was set up to prevent, mostly by provid-ing funding to improve safety and design of stadiums. Since its establishment in 1986 the initiative has grown from involving 6 clubs to now involving 71 during the period of 5 years. [In 1994 when the report was writ-

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ten] Although the programme initially concentrated on football, it has now expanded and encompasses a variety of sports and activities, comprising of cricket, hockey, and aerobics, as well as many more. The in-volvement and contributions have been generated by all sectors of the community, including women, the unemployed and ethnic groups. In the Study of Public and Commercial Use of Football Stadia it states that the PFA reported in 1994 that the immediate aim of the scheme was to expand further and appoint a Com-munity Officer at all 92 football clubs in the Premier and Football Leagues.32

The report also states the through the appointment of a Community Officer the PFA hopes to:

• Encourage more people (especially children) to watch football;• Encourage increased participation in football by young people;• Encourage more people o become interested in and sipper their local clubs by forging closer links with the community;• Improve the image of the game;• Improve the atmosphere at matches by at-tracting families and women as spectators;• Improve the behaviour of players and specta-tors.33

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These bullet points are all directly related to communi-ty links. Without programmes such as the community programme at Millwall FC there would be no links with the young people of the area. There would be a direct association with the rate of crime committed by young people and the amount of community projects in the surrounding area. It is a well known fact that children end up causing crimes due to the lack of activities and things to do in their local area, especially in deprived residential areas such as those found in the less well of areas of cities like Manchester, London and Liverpool. There will also be a direct link concerning truancy rates and the community programmes. With the attraction of football players visiting schools, likely to be the idols of the children who attend, the pupils will be far less likely to miss a day of school. It is also useful to use high profile public figures to influence children in the best ways possible such as discouraging drug use and crime.

The third and fifth bullet points also bring up an impor-tant aspect concerning the unemployed and disadvan-taged members of the community. The more people that become interested in football and support their local club means more connection between club and community will be built. With members of the com-munity becoming more affiliated with their local club, they will be more likely to attend events the club put on. Advertisements and promotions are more likely to be noticed by people who are loyal to their club, as well as local clubs and centres making an improved ef-fort to emulate the Premiership and Football Leagues behaviour in order to produce a greatly improved pub-lic service. The more opportunities provided to the less fortunate means they are more likely to find employ-ment and thus the unemployment numbers will fall dramatically in the area surrounding the stadium. The activities made available will also have a positive ef-fect on crime rates as attendees are likely to become

Community Involvement

34

more responsible and better behaved during and after attending community events and initiatives.

In most cases the community schemes involve no direct cost to the football club as most if the wages paid to community staff at the clubs is provided by a Football Trust grant fund of approximately £4m over a period of 2 years. Since the 1994/1995 budget a fur-ther £250,000 has been allocated to each club in the Football and Premiership Leagues.34 However in some cases such as those of Swindon Town FC and Southend United FC, the clubs themselves contribute in order to give the best service to the community. The appointed Community Officer at any club may employ staff under the Employment Training Scheme, but expenses are paid by the Football Trust. The PFAs only expectation is that each Community Officer at each club has access to their own office as well as being provided with the appropriate equipment needed for any undergoing ac-tivity.

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The Role of Local AuthoritiesThe link between local authorities and football clubs in their area of jurisdiction is vital to community de-velopment. David Sullivan, Director at Millwall FC and Director of Planning at the London Borough of Lew-isham (LBL) outlined the crucial partnership between Millwall FC and LBL with this quote:

“Soccer (football) is not a busi-ness opportunity, but an oppor-tunity for business and local au-thorities to bring life into their communities.”35

The FA [Football Association] was formed in 1863 and is the oldest national football association. The associa-

tion moved from its Soho Square offices, London, in 2009, to its newly built offices in the new Wembley Stadium. In the 1994 report in question the FA sum-marised the current involvement of local authorities is football. The findings are as follows:Local Authorities:• Provide 54% of the 27,000 adult football pitch-es in England for between 70-80% of all teams.• In over 50 cases since 1986, have appointed staff responsible for football development.• In over 80% of cases, currently organise offi-cially approved Football Association coaching courses.• Currently allocate between 17% and 42% of all available time in indoor sports halls to 5-a-side foot-ball.• Are subjecting the management of their rec-reation facilities to compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) and it is widely expected that pitch hire charges will increase as a result.36

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The above figures show that the involvement of the local authorities in the progression of community football is huge. Without the supply of the authority owned pitches, it would be unlikely that community football based activities could take place. Events such as the ‘Millwall FC Street Pro Programme’ would fail to take place as there would be huge difficulty in find-ing the ground to play on without compromising the whole event by paying for the rent of privately owned ground. Thus the local authorities are directly benefit-ing the development of community football, as well as bringing the community together. The evidence in the report suggests that the more the sympathy the local football clubs give to the community and the more com-munity events the put on, the better the relationship between the local authority and the clubs involved in community progression. Some of the benefits to both club and authority are summarised below:

To the club:• Advice and assistance with planning propos-als;• Linkage with existing sports development pro-grammes operated by the local authority recreation department.

To the local authority:• Use of football club facilities for civic promo-tions and sports facilities;• Potential credit attained through strong part-nership links.

To both club and local authority:• The opportunity to be actively involved in en-gendering and fostering a community spirit.v37

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With advantages falling on both sides it seems hard to see why community based events shouldn’t be one of the most frequented initiatives in cities. The pro-cess comes in stages. If the club put on community events near their stadium, or within their stadium, the surrounding population improves with respect to crime, unemployment etc. Thus the local authorities look positively upon the football clubs and begin to help implement more changes, such as better pitches owned by the authority, giving a better community ex-perience. The football club then improves its output to the community by laying on better events with more variety and quantity. The final step is then the local au-thorities being more likely to grant football clubs per-mission to extend stadiums, build new facilities, and undertake more events in their structure. It ends up being a never ending spiral upwards, which comes un-der the colloquial phrase of ‘if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.’

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05Conclusion

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ConclusionSince the first super stadium was built in the Roman times, the huge structures have been corner stones of the largest cities. A stadium can attract tens of thou-sands of people to a confined space for a short period of time. And for that period of time I believe it is safe to say, a ‘micro-community’ is created. Friendships are born, families are bonded, and enemies are even made.

The information covered in this dissertation has given an invaluable insight into the stadium experience from several different points of view. European stadia have been personally explored, as well as drawing upon oth-er people experiences to compile a detailed account of what stadia do for the community. My findings in Por-tugal turned out to be extremely interesting, especially as the European football scene is entirely different to that of the UK. The surrounding area of the New Por-to stadium is very traditional but it has accepted the new structure without compromise. There are many

small businesses surrounding the stadium, all of which have taken on new custom due to the construction of the structure in the form of the workers working on the stadium. Today the surrounding small businesses enjoy the custom of plenty of Porto fans, generated by the matches held at the stadium, as well as other events at the ground. I think the evidence gathered whilst in Porto clarifies the belief that a stadium can bring together a community and directly benefit small businesses as well as large ones nearby.

The community initiatives implicated in the UK are now a major part of every football club in the Premier and Football League. Every one of the 92 clubs in both leagues has now appointed a Community Officer to or-ganise and run community based events in and around their respective stadium. Clubs such as Millwall FC are currently running programmes involving children every week for over a year in order to get kids off the street and give them something to work towards. It also gives opportunities to the more talented players to break

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into academies and possibly earn a future similar to that of their idols, the famous premiership footballers. Another case proving stadia and football clubs are di-rectly benefitting their surrounding communities. The clubs also offer programmes to help the unemployed, women and ethnic minorities.

The account of the Emirates Stadium gives a very posi-tive image of brand new stadia, the third generation of stadia. The first hand view helps understand what the experience is really like as oppose to what the archi-tects planned for spectators. The accessibility of the stadium was an interesting discovery as this is some-thing that affects the community, especially if 50,000 people end up walking past your house on a Saturday afternoon.

The criteria outlined by FIFA, stating the appropriate standards for stadia design allowed me to get an in-sight into the technical aspects that may or may not restrict the aesthetic and structural aspects of a pro-

posal. It also uncovered what stadia need in terms of function rooms, dressing rooms, seating arrangements and therefore the form the stadium takes.Overall my findings have informed me that stadia and football clubs are extremely community based, even if it is behind the scenes. There is also a huge effect on the surrounding area when construction is ongoing, with workers visiting bars, pubs and shops nearby, pro-viding an alternative customer profile. The community is important to any society, and it is highly respectable that local football clubs are taking responsibility and making a conscious effort to improve the quality of life for residents.

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Fig01 - Internet - Colosseum at night - Available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vgm8383/2215110471/sizes/l/Fig02 - Internet - Estadio do Dragao - Available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lourdes_fisio/3488653499/Fig03 - Internet - The Emirates Stadium at night - Available at: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Emirates_Stadium_2008-03-26.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emirates_Stadium_2008-03-26.jpg&usg=__vXLTKh2-prHwIjFboLbY_SYHBL14=&h=2592&w=1944&sz=1828&hl=en&start=35&itbs=1&tbnid=eC6WZ2Tqsos5KM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=113&prev=/images%3Fq%3Demirates%2Bstadium%26imgsz%3Dl%26imgtbs%3Dz%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26start%3D21Fig04 - Internet - The Giuseppe Meazza Stadium - Available at: http://www.football-wallpapers.com/wallpa-pers/san_siro_1_1280x1024.jpgFig05 - Internet - Champions League Final 2009 - Available at: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/2009_Champions_League_Final_Xavi_free_kick.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009_Champions_League_Final_Xavi_free_kick.jpg&usg=___FE_fAIdEHxtsATUZsFxcK3dagE=&h=800&w=1200&sz=1348&hl=en&start=34&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=K7o3Jt4wEeTSSM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchampions%2Bleague%2Bfinal%26imgsz%3Dl%26imgtbs%3Dz%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D21%26um%3D1Fig06 - Internet - Wembley Stadium Arch at night - Available at: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/154/366108577_9aeeb30404_o.jpgFig07 - Internet - Millwall FC Street Soccer Pro Programme Flyer - Available at: http://www.millwallfc.co.uk/page/CommunityScheme/0,,10367~1536188,00.htmlFig08 - Internet - England Football Team kick-about on the pitch whilst new Wembley Stadium is under con-struction - Available at: http://www.wembleystadium.com/buildingwembley/photodiary/England/6.htmFig08 - Internet - The Den - Millwall’s Home Stadium - Available at: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Millwall_April_07.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Millwall_April_07.jpg&usg=__8M1e31hzlLBcL10lQbadaSBgjE0=&h=1536&w=2048&sz=504&hl=en&start=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=Yq7hRSyaKVaHJM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmillwall%26imgsz%3Dl%26imgtbs%3Dz%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1

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07Bibliography

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_Thompson P., Tolloczko J. J. A., Clarke J. N. [1998] Stadia, Arenas & Grandstands. London. E & FN SponThis book examines the impact of recent Governmentlegislation in the UK, the social , planning and design complexities of stadia design and, through recent ex-amples and discussion of current design technology, suggests a way forward for the creation of imaginative and sustainable stadia for the 21st century. The book looks at case studies from around the world, explain-ing design and planning motives and outcomes.

_Barclay P., Powell k. [2007] Wembley Stadium: Ven-ue of Legends. London. PrestelThe basis behind this book is to create a mental pic-ture of the atmosphere created in the past and present Wembley stadia. The book also covers the sporting his-tory of the great venue, reliving the most important fi nals, concerts and events held on the hallowed turf.

_Culley P., Pascoe J. [2005] Stadium Engineering. Lon-don. Thomas TelfordStructure, materials, design are all aspects covered in this book. Characteristics such as designing for a PA System are explained, as well as other aspects such as line of sight, seating arrangement, are also uncovered, among many others.

_Digest of stadia criteria : featuring the requirements of: FIFA, UEFA, FA, F . - London : Football Stadia Advi-sory Design Council, 1992

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