Credit: Original article published here.

If you have attended any sporting events or concerts in any of the larger venues, or even at the college level, you have most likely been seated on top of precast stadia. You might not have given it much thought, because you weren’t sitting right on the concrete, but on seating that was fastened onto the precast stadia sections.

As the architectural engineering and building trades have advanced, so have the structures that house these multipurpose facilities. Stadiums must possess a variety of attributes including an attractive look; family friendly interior, including ease of ingress and egress; design flexibility; and the ability to comfortably and safely house the attendees. The almost universal answer for modern sports venues has been precast concrete components.

Traditional precast concrete products for stadiums include stadia riser sections, raker beams, columns, a variety of structural wall panels, and hollowcore planking. These components can provide many options for architects and engineers.

Using precast stadia sections and other precast components, including stairs and intermediate steps, will provide many advantages:

1. A platform for all trades to work off of early in the schedule.
2. Precast stairs can be utilized at the same time to provide immediate access between floors
3. Longer spans to allow for more flexibility in the areas underneath.
4. Flexibility of design to allow varying rise and run.
5. Cost efficiency due to the rapid installation.
6. Excellent fire resistant properties.
7. Superior sound and vibration control characteristics.
8. Long term durability along with low maintenance.
9. Quality controlled production in a stable environment.
10. Year-round manufacturing and erection.

Early discussions with the precaster should be an integral part of the design process to maximize the benefits of the use of precast concrete in a modern stadium.

Rick Hodek
Sales