The panel included moderator Russ Simons, Venue Solutions Group; Don Jordan, SP+ Gameday, Bob Hart, AECOM/Hunt Construction Group, and Lanson Nichols, HNTB. (VT Photo)
REPORTING FROM HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Sequencing events, from contractor thank-you gatherings featuring cold beer to black-tie donor dinners with premium catering, prior to the main event is the preferred way to open a new stadium.
Russ Simons, Venue Solutions Group, summarized the main points of a panel on opening new stadiums during the Stadium Managers Association meeting here, with that point and the admonition to walk around often during construction, remembering a 13-ft.-high elephant door in front of which a contractor installed a 10-ft.-high exhibtion pipe, as an example of mistakes that can be remedied prior to opening. The Feb.1-4 meeting drew an attendance of 385, according to Mary Mycka, SMA executive director.
Still, grand opening stories are full of the things everybody missed. “You can’t be sure until you have people in the building,” Simons said. “People will tell you how they want to use your stadium.”
It took eight years to bring Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco, to life, noted Lanson Nichols, HNTB architects, whose firm won the bid in 2006. Levi’s Stadium, which opened last year, will host Super Bowl 50 in 2016.
“Practice makes perfect,” Nichols said. The last six months before Levi’s Stadium opened, it hosted multiple small events. He highly recommended scaling events so the building, and employees, are not put under maximum pressure without preparation. He also recommended occupyinging various sides of the building prior to the grand opening.
“Walk around often,” he continued. “And mock it up.”
HNTB did 200-300 different mockups of Levi’s Stadium, which costs money and takes time but, in the end, it saved them from some major mistakes. “Mockups are a good use of funds.” Use mockups as a lab, he said. Lockers, seating and even railings went through the mockup process. Signage was a $3,000 mockup but helped them make some minor adjustments prior to final installation so the signs weren’t blown around by the wind.
His admonition to walk around often was echoed by fellow panelists. “A lot of things come into the building at the last minute,” Nichols noted. Even placement of the trash cans can make a big difference in traffic flow. And traffic flow also depends on good signage. Take a walk around and follow the signs, to see if they are accurate and logical.
Nichols highly recommends engaging stakeholders at every level. San Francisco 49ers' fans were used to Candlestick Park, which is always cold and windy, so they overdressed for Levi’s Stadium, which opened on an unseasonably hot day.
Don Jordan, SP+ Gameday, added that preparation is not limited to the stadium and its parking lots. He recalled a highway sign that was placed so low that one SUV blocked it from view, not a good sign for people coming to a new stadium.
Tulane University in New Orleans opened an on-campus facility for the first time and that project involved mollifying a lot of neighbors living in multimillion-dollar homes that back up to a stadium that wasn’t there before. Tulane University needed a plan in place to handle traffic for even a maximum crowd of 30,000-plus, though the average attendance was 7,000-10,000.
With only 1,300 parking spaces on campus, they opted to maximize a shuttle system, permit residents and place law enforcement barricades around the affected neighborhoods. That also freed up roads on campus for VIP parking.
At the World Market Center, Las Vegas, it took 30,000 people 3.5 hours to clear the building after the grand opening, Jordan recalled. It was because of poor planning regarding logistics outside the venue. Jordan’s firm discovered cabs were siphoned through the regular flow of vehicles and, once they picked up a fare, they didn’t return. Gameday recommended splitting personal vehicles from cabs, limos and shuttles. The next time, the venue cleared in 47 minutes.
Sometimes all the planning in the world will not solve the problem in advance, because people will do what they want to do. Super Bowl is a prime example of planning versus reacting, said Jordan. Super events that draw out-of-towners result in a whole new set of problems. “You may as well be opening a new building,” Jordan said, because the existing footprint is markedly changed with special hospitality and sponsor areas and the majority of fans are new to the venue.
Bob Hart, AECOM/Hunt Construction Group, believes science trumps emotion. “Don’t be afraid of science,” he said. “Take time up front and give your contractor more than four months,” he added, noting the Los Angeles Dodgers massive stadium renovation had to be done between seasons in small windows of time. The same is true of plans for USTA in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. “And we’re talking to the Miami Dolphins about a new roof right now and Arizona State University in Tempe will be making $255 million in renovations over the course of three seasons.”
Fitting major renovations into the schedule is not ideal but often necessary. On a positive note, “renovations build excitement,” Hart noted. On the downside, there is often no place to stage materials.
Some of these baseball stadiums are 50 years old and lack the technology and amenities required in today’s sports world. Technology, in particular, is a growing piece of the puzzle. “What was a $3- $4-million budget 10 years ago is now passing $20 million,” Hart noted. “The 49ers spent $50 million on technology.”
Phasing is the preferred method of renovation, but it only works if the operations people are in place. “Everything we do impacts what you do,” Hart said. At Arizona State University, construction displaced 10,000 season ticket holders. “You have to plan with the end in mind,” he said. “As we renovate, how are we making the guest experience better?” That message will resonate. “Pardon our dust” is passé.
Cleanliness and circulation should be factored into any renovation to make it a good experience.
As with new constructions, renovations benefit from soft opening events, he said. “Do not listen to the contractor who says keep everyone out of my building until I’m finished.”
In conclusion, Simons noted, it is important to preplan and collaborate, but you can go too far. “The super flush has gone too far,” he suggested, referring to the common practice of gathering a group of volunteers to flush all the toilets in unison to test the plumbing prior to an actual event. That needs to be dialed back to a real scenario.
Interviewed for this story: Russ Simons, (816) 352-6494; Lanson Nichols, (213) 403-1062; Don Jordan, (407) 648-0213, ext. 112; Bob Hart, (602) 225-9500