World Record Sports Facilities

By Scott Lewis

Rungrado May First Stadium
Greatest capacity stadium, 150,000 capacity (seating and standing room combined). Built in 1989, the stadium's scalloped roof with 16 arches is said to resemble a magnolia blossom. It is situated on Rungra Island in the Taedong River. Although used for sporting events such as soccer, the stadium is best known for hosting the Arirang Festivals, elaborate mass gymnastic and artistic performances celebrating North Korea's leader. Held almost every year since 2002, and lasting about two months, they involve up to 100,000 participants. Up to 30,000 highly-trained students seated in the stands create huge mosaic pictures by holding up colored cards. And tens of thousands of gymnasts and dancers perform highly choreographed group routines on the field. The largest crowd ever to attend an event at the stadium was an audience of 190,000 for a professional wrestling event on April 29, 1995.

Rungrado May First Stadium
Greatest capacity stadium, 150,000 capacity (seating and standing room combined). The Arirang Festivals in Rungrado Stadium involve tens of thousands of highly disciplined performers.

Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Greatest-capacity fixed-dome stadium, 76,468 seating capacity for football. The world's largest steel dome, a 680-ft dia Lamella roof supported at its perimeter by a 9 ft tension ring, with a surface area of 9 acres. It is home to the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League, hosts basketball games, concerts and expositions, and will host Super Bowl XLVII in February, 2013. The joint venture design team included Curtis and Davis and Associates, Inc.; Edward B. Silverstein and Associates; Nolan, Norman and Nolan; and Sverdrup & Parcel and Associates, Inc. Design of the roof was subcontracted to Roof Structures, Inc., the patent holders of the Lamella system, which basically consists of welded and bolted skewed trusses 7.3 ft deep in which one member frames two others and so on to form a repetitious diamond pattern. The American Bridge Division of U.S. Steel Corp. used 37 tower cranes placed in concentric circles and mobile cranes to erect the dome, which is 273 ft high at its center. The general contractor was a joint venture of Huber, Hunt and Nichols, Inc. and Blount Bros. Corp. It was completed in 1975, at a cost of $165 million. In 2005 It sheltered thousands of people seeking refuge during Hurricane Katrina. The storm partially stripped away the roof membrane, leaving two 4 x 20 ft holes, but the wind pressures and the breach did not affect the roof trusses. Repairing and refurbishing the Superdome cost $185 million. Later renovations included added new aluminum exterior panels, 3,500 additional seats and 7,500-sq-ft lounges to serve 4,500 fans.
Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Cowboys Stadium
Largest-capacity retractable-roof stadium, 80,000 seating capacity; 110,000 including standing room. Completed in 2009 at a cost of $1.15 billion, the stadium is the home of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys, and the Cotton Bowl Classic college football game. The stadium was designed by architectural firm HKS. The stadium was built by a team of three contractors, Manhattan Construction, Rayco Construction, and 3i Construction. It's distinctive retractable roof features a pair of steel box-truss arches, 1,225 ft long and 300 ft tall. Derr Steel Erection Co. devoted 18 months to the erection work. The roof was designed by Walter P Moore structural engineers. A first-of-its-kind rack-and-pinion gear-drive system, supplied by mechanization consultants Uni-Systems, moves the retractable roof panels. The stadium hosted a crowd of 108,713 at the NBA All-Star Game on February 14, 2010, the most well attended basketball game in history. It has also hosted monster-truck races, bull riding matches, and a crowd of 70,745 for a U2 concert.
Dallas Cowboys

Tokyo Racecourse
World's biggest horseracing venue, capacity 207,404. The Tokyo Racecourse, which was built in 1933, has long been Japan's premier racing venue. It is located in the Tokyo suburb of Fuchu, and offers spectators a view of Mt. Fuji. It offers a variety of different course configurations: a grass (turf) course measuring 2,083 m, a dirt course of 1,899 m and a jump course of 1,675 m. It has the longest homestretch of any racecourse in the world, of 525 m. It's two grandstands, 'Fuji View' and 'Memorial 60,' seat a total of 22,901 spectators. With standing room the capacity reaches 207,404. The largest crowd ever at the Racecourse was a crowd of 196,517 on Japanese Derby day, May 27, 1990. The Memorial 60 grandstand was built in 1993 by the Takenaka Corp. The Fuji View grandstand was built in 2007 by a joint venture of Takenaka Corp. and Shimizu Corp. The 2007 renovation included the installation of the world's largest video screen at the time, measuring 66 m wide by 11 m high (749.4 sq m). (It is no longer the world's largest.)
Japan Racing Association

Tokyo Racecourse
The Tokyo Racecourse's video screen is roughly the size of three tennis courts.
Japan Racing Association

Crystal Lagoon
Largest swimming pool, 66 million gallons. Stretching 1,000 meters along Chile's Pacific coast, the Crystal Lagoon pool is flanked by the stepped towers of the San Alfonso del Mar resort. Completed in 2006, it is the first of a series of huge pools designed by Crystal Lagoons Corp., a Chilean firm led by biochemist-entrepreneur Fernando Fischmann, who developed a technology to recycle seawater and keep it clean, which makes such pools viable. The pool has a surface area of 20 acres and holds 66 million gallons of water, both of which are world records at present. The pool's size permits activities such as kayaking, windsurfing, and scuba diving (it's deep end plunges to 115 ft). While the cold Humboldt Current and fierce riptides discourage most beachgoers from entering this part of the Pacific, the pool's water is 79 degrees F, 16 degrees warmer than the adjoining sea. (Later this year, when the Crystal Lagoon pool in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with a surface area of 29.2 acres, begins operating, it will become the record holder for most pool surface area, but it will contain less water.)
Crystal Lagoons Corp.

The Villages
Largest golf complex, 531 holes of golf. The Villages is a retirement community in central Florida, population 92,000, about 45 miles northwest of Orlando. Founded in 1983, the community encompasses 40 square miles, about 35 of which have been developed at present. The Villages has 11 regulation-length golf courses and 29 executive golf courses (shorter than regulation-length) with a total of 531 holes of golf. There are 294 par three holes, 231 on regulation courses, and 63 on executive courses. There are 30 par 4's on executive courses. A par round for all the holes at The Villages would be 1,892. Par for all executive holes would be 813 and for regulation courses would be 1,079. There are 158,399 yards (over 90 miles) of golf available total. Regulation golf holes total 58.8 miles and executive holes total 31.2 miles. When the community is fully developed there will be 641 holes of golf. The Palmer Legends course was designed by former champion Arnold Palmer, and the Lopez Legacy course was designed by former champion Nancy Lopez. Residents of The Villages can play golf on the executive courses without having to pay any greens fees, however, fees are charged for using golf carts. Many residents use golf carts to travel around the community, and tunnels have been built so that residents can avoid having to cross highways.
The Villages

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Largest-capacity sports facility, 257,000 seating capacity. In operation since 1909, the Speedway has been home to the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race since 1911, considered one of the three most prestigious motorsport events in the world. While the track management does not release official attendance figures, it is believed that crowds of 300,00 have attended some years, occupying the 257,000 permanent seats and additional temporary infield seating. The 2.5-mile nearly rectangular oval track is nicknamed 'The Brickyard,' as it was paved with bricks in its early decades of operation. Among the track's many features designed to protect drivers and spectators, are the PEDS Barrier and the SAFER Barrier. First installed in 1998, the polythylene energy dissipating system (PEDS) consists of 5 ft long overlapping plates of polyethylene containing polyethylene tubes. The steel and foam energy reduction barrier (SAFER), known as a 'soft wall,' consists of steel tubes welded together, backed by polystyrene foam bundles, was installed in 2002. The Speedway was established by Carl Fisher, an auto headlight manufacturer. Fisher also conceived and helped develop the Lincoln Highway, the first coast-to-coast road for automobiles, completed in 1913.
IMS by John Cote

Arthur Ashe Stadium
Largest-capacity tennis stadium; 22,547 seats + 90 luxury suites. The main stadium of the U.S. Open tournament. It is part of the National Tennis Center, a 46.5-acre complex located inside Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, in Queens County in New York City. Completed in 1997, the Arthur Ashe Stadium superceded the Louis Armstrong Stadium. The stadium construction was part of a $254 million expansion project, which included downsizing Louis Armstrong Stadium to 10,200 seats, building a 6,000-seat Grandstand, and extensive broadcasting facilities. Designed by Rossetti Associates, the stadium features exposed structural steel 'trees,' ringing the octagonal-in-plan stadium. To cope with the soft soil, foundation designer Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers used 1,300 140-ft long concrete-filled steel pipe piles topped by a four-acre 1-ft thick slab. Turner Construction Co. was the general contractor. The court surface is DecoTurf, a hardcourt made up of layers of acrylic, rubber and silica atop an asphalt or concrete base. The surface plays slower than grass and faster than clay. The USTA has announced plans for $500 million worth of improvements over five years, beginning after the 2013 Open tournament, including expanding Louis Armstrong and the Grandstand, and adding two parking garages. During most of the year the National Tennis Center is a public facility.
United States Tennis Association

Gwangmyeong Velodrome
Largest-capacity velodrome, 30,000 capacity. Built in 2006, the velodrome was designed to resemble a cycling helmet, and is the largest domed structure in South Korea. It seats 9,574, and with standing room has a capacity of 30,000. It was designed by the Japanese architectural firm Reform Road Construction Co. and built by a consortium of three South Korean contractors, DaeWoo, SamSung and TaeYoung. It is located in Gwangmyeong, a southwest suburb of Seoul. The 2,200 tonne roof, measuring 179 m long and 133 m wide, was erected in three stages. The central compression section was assembled on the ground and jacked into position using six strand jacks. Temporary support towers were then built, a tension ring was erected, and finally trusses were connected between the inner and outer structures and the spaces between the trusses was filled with bracing members.
Korea Sports Promotion Foundation

SMP Skatepark
Largest skatepark. Built in 2005, it is located in the Yangpu District of Shanghai. The skatepark has 13,700 sq m of skateable space, equal to 2.14 soccer fields. It's largest bowl, Mondo Bowl, covers 1,415 sq m and can hold more water than an Olympic swimming pool. The vert ramp, a form of half-pipe, is 52 m long with banks between 3.9 m and 5.1 m high. The Link Bowl's height ranges from 1.8 m to 2.7 m, with hips, transfers, pockets and sub-boxes. The Dog Bone Bowl resembles a dog bone in shape. The 1,750 sq m park zone contains banks, hips, fun boxes, rails, ledges, and hubbas (tall ledges flanking a set of stairs). There is seating capacity for 4,000 spectators, and a total capacity of 5,000 including standing room. The park was designed by Convic, an Australian firm specializing in skatepark design, and built by Chengtou Construction, which is based in Shanghai. According to Nick Loschiavo, design manager at Convic, the process used to build the skatepark was 'in-situ concrete, off form, and shot-crete, troweled to exacting tolerances. To create the shapes formwork was constructed from timber and plywood, sprayed with concrete, and then worked and troweled to the final forms and smoothness.” Adjoining the skatepark is the 7000 sq m SMP Sportscentre, a leisure, office, restaurant and retail complex.
Convic

The vert ramp
The vert ramp, a form of half pipe, is 52 meters long, possibly the longest in the world.
Shawn Morris

Rungrado May First Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea; 150,000 capacity (seating and standing room combined).

Sports facilities range from Olympic and World Cup venues, professional team stadiums, to high school and college facilities. Professional sports team owners often push the envelope in their quest to build excitement for and attendance at their events. Some major residential and resort developers also build record-breaking recreational facilities as drawing cards.

The sports construction market sector has suffered along with the overall market downturn in recent years. According to McGraw-Hill Construction Research & Analytics, the value of construction starts of sports facilities in the U.S. has declined from $4.8 billion in 2006 to $2 billion in 2011.

Some firms have already seen business begin to rebound. Scott Radecic is a senior principal at Populous, which he says is "the largest design firm that focuses solely on sports facility design and sports architecture." From his vantage point, he says, "I don't know if we'll ever see a time like 2005 and 2006," but after the recession, "we saw activity pick up in 2011 and 2012, but the sports marketplace is down 40% from it's peak four or five years ago."

Populous has worked for 130 colleges, 30 of the 32 National Football League teams, done master planning for the London Olympic Committee, and has designed the Olympic Stadium for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. Radecic sees various global trends affecting the sports market. "The financial crisis in Europe is putting a damper on Europe and the UK, but things in Russia, Asia and Australia are very active."

Recreational facilities are another branch of the sports market, and waterparks are a sizeable new market niche. "Since 2000 there has been a big increase in indoor and outdoor waterparks," says David Sangree, president of Hotel & Leisure advisors, a consulting firm to hotels, resorts, casinos and waterparks. "Many municipal facilities have added waterpark components to their pools over the past decade because they are able to charge higher prices."

Commercial waterparks are a growing trend. "There are currently 132 indoor waterpark resorts of over 10,000 sq ft in the U.S.," according to Sangree. "Years ago there were very few resorts with outdoor waterparks. Now there are 52 with at least three features. It allows them to be more popular with guests, and attract new segments of guests. There are some very large facilities, such as Aquatica, in Orlando, Florida, and also San Antonio, Texas, owned by SeaWorld.