explains SCX projects director Danny Pickard, who led
the engineering on the pitch.
“What we ended up with is a natural pitch structure
that weighs 9,500-tonnes 9,500,000kg and splits into
three separate parts, so it can be moved and stored
to reveal an officially sanctioned artificial NFL field
underneath,” he adds.
Having previously worked on Wimbledon’s famous
Centre Court retractable roof, the company used its
experience to create three pitch-long steel trays that
house the natural turf.
Each tray runs on rails and is powered by 68
powerful electric motors totalling around 90kW,
meaning just three people can retract the surface in
just over an hour. It is then stored in a bespoke area
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM
MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE
Due to the stadium’s location on a main high street and being
surrounded by residential areas and historic buildings,
Populous designed a multi-layered, undulating textured
façade to compliment and better blend into its environment.
Constructed from two types of material, pre-cast concrete
panels form the base at street level, while above modular
steel cladding formed from 4,801 steel panels wraps the
stadium to conceal or reveal areas of the interior. Installed at
different angles and perforated with thousands of differently
shaped holes, they are able to let differing levels of daylight
in, while at night, sections of the façade are illuminated.
“It’s all about dynamism and movement. We wanted to
create architecture that is ever-changing and ephemeral; that
would reveal something new in different lighting. Fans will
see a very different incarnation of the stadium at night
matches than they will at 3pm on a Saturday,” says
Christopher Lee, managing director at Populous.
underneath the enormous South Stand, where
integrated UV lighting, cooling and irrigation
technology keeps the surface in pristine condition.
“Despite the complications of having to close off
Tottenham High Road, we managed to have the first
phase of the pitch installed in just 11 weeks. In 13
weeks, the pitch was moving under its own steam,”
Pickard explains.
This solution not only drastically reduced the time
it takes to transform the playing surface from a fully
functioning soccer pitch to an NFL quality field, it also
deals with the issue of sightlines.
UK stadia that have hosted the NFL have often had
to section off the first few rows, so fans can see over the
field-side entourage to witness the action clearly.
(Clockwise from top left)
The food and beverge options
at the stadium range from
a market-style fan zone
with Europe’s longest bar,
to members’ lounges with
premium fine dining
www.stadia-magazine.com June 2019 19
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