06DRAWING BOARD
Designs for Chinese
soccer side Dalian Yifang FC’s
world-leading training facility
10DRAWING BOARD
A multi-use venue in
Valencia, Spain, is aiming to be a
premier location for sport and arts
12EVENT HUB
What to see at the
Stadium Managers Association
event in Phoenix, Arizona, USA
14TECH FOCUS
A round-up of the latest
innovation and technology for
the stadium operations market
28SECURITY REACH
What goes on behind
the scenes to keep major sporting
events safe from security threats?
his issue marks a special milestone. Stadia
celebrates its 20th year and we couldn’t be
prouder of this fantastic achievement.
Much like the stadium industry, our goal
is to remain relevant where fast-moving consumer
habits have bought challenges, tribulations, and trends
to continually keep up with. And this anniversary is
testament to that.
While we sadly can’t share any cake with you, instead
we’ve got one of our biggest ever, feature-packed, editions
of the magazine we’ve ever produced for you to enjoy.
To showcase this remarkable era in sports venue
design and engineering, we have compiled the best
stadium and arena builds from the last two decades.
And boy, we can tell you it has not been an easy task to
whittle down 20 years of new venues into just 20 of our
most notable projects. We deliberated, debated, argued,
reconciled and jawed over hundreds of builds for a
selection to make the cut. We’re happy with it, but as a
disclaimer, there will be without doubt, venues that you
think should be on there, or some that shouldn’t be there
at all. But let us just say, every stadium on the honor roll
is there for a speci c reason – they all are important to
us, and what they mean to this industry.
It is indicative of how challenging the process
of putting it together was because of how reactive
and innovative this industry is. e shi in design
philosophy from the earlier venues to modern day ones
is evident, with a focus on fan experience, community,
sustainability, and technology informing present builds.
Yet, the future is looking even more dynamic as we wait
for SoFi Stadium in LA, and Allegiant Stadium in Las
Vegas to reset the market in 2020.
What exactly the next 20 years of stadium design
will bring is an exciting thought. How we interact with
venues on gamedays has vastly changed in just a few
years, so the venue of tomorrow could be in a di erent
league. In fact, we asked the world’s leading architects
this very question (page 60) and they all had some eyeopening
insights, which could be game-changing.
Finally, I’d like to say thanks to all the great editors
and sta who have worked on this magazine over the
past 20 years, as well as the support from everybody else
involved. We hope you enjoy this issue and the many
more in the future!
James Billington, editor
36RESOLUTION
REVOLUTION
How stadia are turning to the nextgeneration
of broadcasting
technology to boost the live event
70MAN OF THE MOMENT
David Manica talks about
his career beginnings, inspirations
and favorite builds
78VERY IMPORTANT PLANS
Industry experts discuss
how VIP hospitality is changing the
landscape for fan experience
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