THE NEW NORMAL
Jonathan O’Neil Cole, founding principal of
Pendulum Studio, shares his opinion on creating
a viable path forward for public assembly
spaces such as sports venues post-Covid-19
he absence of fans in the stands is likely
the single largest fear on the minds of
anyone even remotely associated with
the sports marketplace. e obvious
domino e ect is major declines in
ticket sales, food and beverage demand,
merchandising, and sponsorship. In
essence an outright dismantling of an entire industry.
A er polling sports industry leaders regarding the
future of public assembly following Covid-19, the general
consensus, at least in the minds of owners and operators,
is that sporting events will without question be back and at
this moment plans are already being put in place to do so.
From the perspective of the general public, however, the
feedback has been mixed with quite a bit of indi erence,
most notably from individuals who have stated sports
are non-essential. It is important to consider the context
of the comment as sports being non-essential is from
the perspective of personal health outweighing fandom,
generally speaking. We certainly can’t argue with keeping
safe, so it makes sense that most people want to proceed
with caution.
As architects and designers heavily invested in the
sports marketplace, it is only natural that we respond
with our thoughts on solutions. e industry as a whole
has started to o er preliminary ideas on social distancing
within the seating bowl, but with feedback from leaders
in sports and the general public we realize that seating,
although essential, is really the tip of the iceberg. A focus
on design strategy now may be a bit presumptuous.
Although the probable impact of a decline in ticket use
in any given facility is important, the key to a rebound
of the sports economy clearly starts rstly with readily
available Covid-19 testing, secondly followed by a proven
and readily available vaccine, and then thirdly a visibly
executed facility operations strategy that provides the
public with con dence that the team or organization is
doing everything within their power to ensure public
health and safety. e truth of the matter is 99.9% of
us can’t do anything about items one and two, short of
receiving de nitive guidance from the CDC, we are dealing
with a moving target. Item number three is where our next
level of our conversation should be focused.
Operations strategy and public perception are going to
be the key to the success of organizations moving forward.
As municipal leaders slowly start to reopen businesses
across the nation, we are seeing a de nite default to
caution in public assembly protocol. ere is continued
discussion about the use of thermal screening, already
being implemented in at least one international airport
as mandatory protocol before allowing travelers to then
proceed to standard security screening. If similar measures
are required at public assembly for even reduced capacity
crowds, the operator will need to give careful consideration
to how they communicate new protocol to fans.
Since the terrorist acts of 9/11, those of us that travel
frequently have become accustomed to accept the fact that
you may be pulled out of line for random screening. e
same is not necessarily true when it comes to standing in
line to enter a sports event or concert. How organizations
handle the very rst impression of fans returning to
stadia in the form of parking, tailgating, and security is
the tipping point for the path forward. Investment in a
comprehensive strategy for social distancing iconography,
messaging, way nding, and security attendant sensitivity
training is money well spent as organizations look with
eager anticipation toward the future. ■
Jonathan O’Neil Cole AIA, NCARB, NOMA is the founding principal of
Pendulum Studio, a Kansas City based rm that specializes in the design
of sports facilities with an emphasis on Minor League Baseball (MiLB).
Venue owners must identify and introduce
new protocols to ensure a safe return of fans
FINAL WHISTLE www.stadia-magazine.com June 2020 50
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