What do arena and theater managers need to know about seats?
This is a question that comes up quite a bit in VSG’s facility condition assessment work so I reached out to one of the industry’s most experienced professionals in the field, Bill Waldo at Irwin seating for some advice.
Today’s chairs look very good thanks to epoxy powder paint, they are more comfortable to sit in than ever before because of improvements in ergonomics and finally work better longer with springs and mechanics made from carbon fiber.
Modern technologies are being added throughout the chair system including upgrades in fireproofing and the addition of emerging materials like Kevlar for strength.
The expected usable life of a chair today is twice that of previous models. It is reasonable that a chair today can last up to 30 years depending on the materials used and proper maintenance. That can mean only reconditioning one or two times during the 30-year expected usable life of an average facility.
The key factors influencing the repair and reconditioning of chairs for arenas and theaters has to do with comfort which is directly related to the foam in the seats and backs and aesthetics which include the fabric, color and stitching, including the quality of the materials used.
The foam in older chairs wore out early in the chair’s life and that had a real effect on the comfort of guests sitting in the seats even for short periods of time. Today’s chairs use closed cellular foam vs. the previous open cell type which fairly quickly dried and turned to powder in the seat pan and led to more frequent need to recondition the seat and back. Today’s chair foam will not absorb liquids and, when combined with modern wool and wool blend fabrics, wears like iron.
Today’s arena and theater seats must comply with the American Standard Testing Method (ASTM) criteria for self-rising chairs, which include a self-rising seat pan that must last for 10-years or 100,000 cycles.
It is important to recognize that one of the biggest factors on the expected usable life of your chair has to do with overall customer use.
The information we have discussed is based on “average” use. There are several examples where the nature of the facility’s event calendar requires the chairs to be reconditioned at an accelerated rate.
Bottom Line: As with most facility operations elements, the quality of the equipment along with proper maintenance will extend the expected usable life of the chair in your facility.
Russ Simons is...
managing partner, Venue Solutions Group, and has been in this industry for more than three decades, working in arenas, stadiums, design, construction, safety and security. Send questions about any aspect of venue operation to askruss@venuestoday.com or mail questions to Venues Today, P.O. Box 2540, Huntington Beach, CA 92647.