The best sports stadiums in the world
The arena where sports take place is a very important aspect of the game being played. Although sports are such an activity that they can be played on any sort of field, be it the street or a backyard, but when sports are played at a highly professional level, they require a proper and usually very grand infrastructure to house them. The reason for their grandness is usually because they are meant to accommodate numerous spectators. So shops, restaurants and the actual playing field can all be found inside a modern stadium. Sports stadiums are getting larger and more extravagant, as they accommodate hundreds of thousands of spectators from different colours and creeds.
The history of sports stadiums can be traced back to thousands of years ago to the original Olympic Games. In 776 BC, the first stadium was built in Olympia, Greece to host the very first Olympic Games. Even in those days, the stadiums that were built were on a grand scale for of a number of reasons. Firstly the events that took place at that time required a large amount of space, and the second reason was the fact that stadiums were used as a way to show off a city’s power, strength and wealth to all other cities in the vicinity. Over time stadiums started to accommodate modern architectural methods and new age building principles but at the end of the day, the reason for building the stadiums stayed the same. Cities and countries wanted to show off their economic prowess to everyone else and they all wanted to outdo each other in hosting the best sporting events of their time.
In order to host 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, one of the biggest stadiums was built in China. Not to be outdone by the American where everything is huge, the Chinese decided to make one of the biggest stadiums in Asia. The Beijing National Stadium or the Bird’s Nest as it is known, is packed full of restaurants, stores and bars, and catered to an estimated 500,000 spectators that showed up to watch the Games. One of the best things about this venue was the fact that it was built in a very conservative budget of $500 million. The figure does not even break into the top ten most expensive stadiums in the world.
The recent World Cup that took place in South Africa saw one of the most beautiful and modern stadiums built in modern times. Soccer City in Johannesburg was built by a specialist sports architectural company called Populous. The company’s senior principal says that the stadiums of the future will be compact and contemporary, and the grandness and extravagance of the past will be nowhere in sight. The main focus for the stadiums currently being built is to attract the spectators so fill them up. Empty stadiums are the worst thing that can happen to a sporting event of the scale of Olympics or World Cup. The problem with stadiums built in the past for major events was that they could not be used for anything else after the event was over; they were just too big. The focus is now on building smaller, more compact stadiums that can be used for local events once the larger sport festival ends.
There are a few factors to consider, while constructing any stadium. These include the architectural design, the ambience, the location of the stadium and its history. All these factors together, help create a venue that lives on in people’s memories and keeps them coming back, event after event. Year after year stadiums are renovated, rebuilt and modernised. The stadiums that have good renovation work done to them retain the original atmosphere and historical relevance with spectators. If questioned which the best stadium in the world is; its answer is not simple. Since there are many stadiums that are outstanding and unique and at the end of the day, it ends up being nothing more but personal choice. Debates will always rage on whether Wembley Park or Wimbledon or Soccer city or any other stadium is the best in the world. But there is not hard and fast rule that could rate a particular stadium as number 1.
In the years to come we will see a lot of beautiful stadiums being built all around the world. With the 2012 Olympics coming up in London, the city will see a lot of revamping and rebuilding going on to its most popular venues. Other big events that will take place in the next few years will follow the same pattern.
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