The best stadiums on the planet

Host City profiles the stadiums at the forefront of environmental performance, showing that being the best needn’t cost the Earth

During a major event, a stadium becomes the host city or nation’s focus of attention. With so many eyes attracted to these centres of exhilaration, it is crucial for people responsible for delivering the event to send out positive messages to an audience about the venue’s environmental credentials.

Is it a stadium or a power plant?
The Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland

It has now become the norm for architects, engineers and venue owners to design, build and operate stadiums in more environmentally friendly ways. Numerous systems and products are becoming available to contribute to these endeavours. Options include artificial grass to reduce water use, biodegradable packaging to reduce waste and high quality LED diodes that can be used in side perimeter boarding or illumination for corporate suites which use only a fraction of the energy normally required.

Precious water
Despite melting icecaps and increased rainfall in many parts of the world, the number of countries suffering from a lack of fresh water is increasing at a rapid speed. It is not only in countries far from the sea where fresh water is getting scarcer. Even those that have direct access to oceans and rivers are having difficulty keeping up with the growing demand for fresh water.

While keeping up with this demand poses a challenge for industrialised nations, for third-world countries the need for water can become a matter of life and death. Using fresh water to irrigate a soccer pitch is an extremely sensitive issue.

Water for the pitch is a valuable resource at the new Benjamin Mkapa national football stadium in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Like in many other African countries, Tanzania has a predominantly hot climate. When it does rain, water pours down so fast and in such huge quantities that it can do more harm than good. The land suffers, and football pitches are no exception.

The stadium management is doing all it can to utilise fresh water to the maximum. A water reservoir has been installed under the pitch to store water during the rainy season. This water is used in the dry season to maintain the pitch. Run-off water from the roof is also carefully collected for re-use and a high-tech irrigation system ensures the optimal amount of water is used for proper growth of the natural turf.

With funding from FIFA, the Tanzanian football association has installed an artificial turf pitch in the old national stadium, which is directly adjacent to the national stadium. The field is now used for training purposes and allows players to adapt to a stadium environment without damaging the precious natural grass in the new stadium.

Winds of change
Much of the energy consumed by venues is used for heating, cooling and ventilation. Fresh air is essential to prevent spectators from feeling uncomfortable or even suffering from a lack of oxygen. Performers also benefit from the right amount of oxygen in the air, enabling them to perform at their peak.

When Sydney, Australia won the bid for hosting the 2000 Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) demanded that it should be “the Green Games”. New facilities had to be designed to meet high environmental standards. Architects HOK responded to the challenges by designing the 80,000 seat Olympic Stadium where cogeneration, water conservation and advanced waste management techniques were just some of the contributions to improved environmental performance. More importantly, natural lighting and passive ventilation reduced energy consumption.

The architects included openings in the walls and the roof to promote ventilation. Special sun shading elements protect visitors from direct heat from the sun while the four ramp towers draw hot air out of the stadium, thereby reducing the air-conditioning load. Shafts, motorised louvres and a central escalator void further complement the ability of the towers to extract hot air from the stadium.

The computer modelling was among the most comprehensive ever undertaken for a stadium project. It showed that venting the airflow two ways via shafts would provide a robust and functional solution. Glazed screens and doors placed around the escalator shaft prevent hot air being displaced onto lower levels. The incoming air supply is preheated by backdraft dampers and radiators at air inlets. Passive night ventilation in hot weather reduces the residual cooling load.

Rays of gold
Powerful sunlight presents opportunities as well as threats. While the technology is still developing, scientists agree that solar power is most likely the best and cheapest source of energy.

The Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland decided to harness this free and bountiful supply of energy. The stadium has taken the environmentally friendly approach to profitability: it generates electricity for its own consumption while surplus energy is sold to the surrounding neighbourhood.

Swiss energy supplier BKW FMB Energie AG installed 8,000 sq m of solar panels on the roof, making Stade de Suisse Wankdorf the owner of the biggest stadium-integrated solar power station in the world. Following the huge success of the project, this surface has since been extended to an even more impressive 12,000 sq m.

Within three months of installation the capacity of the park was already sold out. The 5,000 polycrystalline solar modules deliver a system voltage of 1,000V and produce approximately 700,000 kWh per year. This is the equivalent of the annual consumption of 300 households. The power produced is mainly utilised for heating and the supply of electricity to the entire sports, cultural and business complex of which Stade de Suisse Wankdorf is a part.

Other customers can also take advantage of what the operators say is the cheapest unsubsidised solar energy in Switzerland. Thanks to the solar power system, the emission of some 700,000 kg of CO2, which would normally be created by the generation of electricity in a conventional coal-fired power plant, is avoided.

Benjamin Mkapa national football stadium, Sydney Olympic stadium and Stade de Suisse Wankdorf are three striking examples of green stadium designs from around the world. Initially regarded as extravagant and elite, these venues have become economically viable solutions and changed the paradigm of stadium design.