The Best Seats
In The House

One of the fastest growing trends in stadiums and sports arenas today is the popularity of LED lighting, which is replacing the old-school metal-halide lights. What initially sparked the interest of professional sports venues was the estimated 70% energy cost savings. However, the fans immediately noticed that the LED lighting enhanced the look of the game immensely.

Why LED Lighting?

While stadiums across the nation are switching to the LED systems, they are becoming the standard during the construction of new stadiums as well. Why? These systems use less energy and they are much more cost efficient to maintain. The LED lights offer longer burn time, they are brighter, they do not require “warm-up” time like the older metal halide lights did, and they do not flicker, due to the higher level of energy efficiency.

The sports world is evolving at a rapid pace. While the product on the field, ice or pitch is still inherently important, today’s savvy spectators are looking for so much more when it comes to the spectator experience.

With the rise of high-definition televisions, PVRs and online streaming services, professional sports franchises are doing more than ever to entice fans into stadiums across Canada and the United States.

As the research continues to be compiled, industry pundits are emphasizing spectator experience paired with the talent on the field to create the perfect combination of the live sport experience. While avid fans are still looking for the win, the stadium experience is becoming equally important.

As a number of major stadiums have undergone or are set to undergo massive renovations, some franchises and organizations are forgoing dated stadiums and instead are opting to start from scratch. With a focus on the spectators’ increasing importance, just what do the next generation of sports fans expect from their favourite venues?

Whether it be a new build or a renovation to an existing facility, when it comes to planning prospective seating, there is much to take into consideration. While to some, it might seem as easy as picking a number out of thin air in reality, that could not be further from the truth.

With the changing needs of many facilities, the question could be answered using a subtraction or an addition type of formula. With many stadiums, arenas and other locations opting for lower seat counts in hopes of a better spectator experience, the answer has progressed beyond the “go big or go home” mentality of not long ago.

As you prepare to plan seating for your new or existing location, here are a few key factors every planner should take into account before placing an order on new fixed seating.

Rising from the landscape like the great coliseums of ancient Rome, many stadiums of today and of years past bear resemblance to these large structures designed to house as many spectators as possible with archaic seating configurations.

As the years have gone by, we have seen some of the most iconic stadiums and iconoclastic sports venues fall to the ground as newer, fancier, stronger and more spectator-oriented structures are erected in their place (or somewhere close by).  As more and more of these structures become obsolete, there is a growing trend in the stadium and seating industry that is transforming these structures into completely inclusive experiences for those who enter them. 

Whether we would like to admit it or not, the times are changing more rapidly than most of us ever thought possible.  As many of us continue to adapt and change course to reflect the demands, needs and wants of both the public and athletic communities, exciting things are happening in our industry on a daily basis.

With new stadiums being erected all over Canada and the United States, these new design trends are not strictly reserved for professional sports. Collegiate, community and private facilities are all being swept into this massive wind of change as well.

With this in mind, here are a few of the biggest trends sweeping the athletic facility industry and how many planners, designers, and fabricators are keeping pace.

Here we are a mere few days ahead of the kickoff of the Queen’s Gaels home opener football game slated for this Saturday, September 17, 2016 in Kingston, Ontario.  It feels like just yesterday that our crews began to break ground at this historic site at Queen’s University and what has been erected is nothing short of breathtaking.

The 8,000 seat stadium, which rose from the demolition over the past few months will arguably stand to be Canada’s premier collegiate athletic stadium, boasting an innovative top-loading bowl seating design.

Bowl seating concept our team designed for Richardson Stadium at Queen's University

Browsing through the sports column of your favourite newspaper or website these days, we can’t ignore the amount of stadium builds and re-designs being covered.  What used to be strictly an issue of safety for outdated facilities has now morphed into a crowd-focused undertaking by many amateur and professional sports clubs and franchises.

Today’s sports fan places a great deal of emphasis on attaining the most memorable experience possible. Where ticket stubs were once the only souvenir many got to take away from viewing a game, spectators are now leaving with the unforgettable memory of feeling like they were a part of the action.

An architect’s rendering of what the revitalized stadium could look like, c/o Queen's University

Sport Systems Canada Inc. is pleased to announce they have been awarded the Richardson Stadium Grandstands contract by Queen’s University.

Richardson Stadium is a historically significant sports venue for Queen’s, Kingston, and Canada. The stadium played host to national and regional games as well as a Roosevelt speech. The third edition Richardson Stadium will be an important competitive sports venue and recreational facility for Queen’s and the broader local and regional community.

Demolition at the site began in late October, at which time a number of architectural designs were released to the public displaying the future of Richardson Stadium.

“As part of this large revitalization project, we will design, fabricate and install the new grandstands that will house approximately 8,500 spectators. One of the main goals of this project is to drastically improve sightlines and provide seating that is closer to the field of play. To achieve this goal, we are designing an elevated first row of seating consistent with current stadium design, allowing spectators an unobstructed view, as well as moving the entire seating bowl closer to the field to enhance the spectator experience,” said Jeff Hurrle, Vice President & General Manager, Sport Systems Canada Inc.

For our friendly neighbors to the south, The Super Bowl is the sporting event to end all sporting events - and it comes but once a year! Everything about the Super Bowl makes for the ultimate sports experience for spectators. Whether you are die hard football fan, or just in it for the halftime show, the Super Bowl has a little something for everyone!

Super Bowl’s Roots

It all began in 1966, when the National Football League and the American Football League decided to put aside their rivalry, agreeing instead on a merger of the two leagues set to begin in 1970. To kick off this historic union of the two biggest football associations, the number one contenders from each league went head-to-head for a 1967 “world” football championship showdown, which later became known as the Super Bowl I.

The rest, as they say, is history. Since that first epic matchup in 1967, NFC and AFC champions have met every year to contend for the title of NFL Champions. During Super Bowl season, American sports fans pull out all the stops to celebrate this annual football contest.

David and Goliath Walk Into a Gym. Together. 

We at Sport Systems enjoy a challenge. 

Our record of large scale renovations and seating solutions speaks to our engineering and execution capabilities, something PROFIT Magazine mentioned specifically while ranking us among the 500 fastest growing companies in Canada. Look no further than our projects with Carleton University, Queen's University, and the University of Ottawa. We're proud to say our seating will be enjoyed for years to come as football begins making a return to Ottawa.

We're also proud to supply peripheral equipment to the Frank Clair Stadium project at Landsdowne Park. This ambitious stadium marks a departure from traditional "grandstand" architecture and embraces a provocative, modern look sure to endure the coming decades. With this project we're excited to play a small role in bringing CFL Football back to Ottawa in 2014. Ottawa Fury FC will also enjoy this world class facility. 

So our solutions are proven to work well in both traditional and contemporary designs. All of the projects mentioned above were ambitious in scale, but ambitious doesn't necessarily mean massive. Sometimes, the solution to a large project seems rather obvious. Other times, what you might call a "smaller" project presents unique challenges that send us back to the drawing board.