It is the nature of sports which determines the architecture of sports infrastructure such as stadium, pavilion and arena. When designing sporting facilities the architect must consider certain fundamental considerations: capacity, seating configuration, concession areas, multiple entrances, amenities for the teams and media. Will the structure be multipurpose or used for a single sporting discipline? Will it be a stadium, arena or an auditorium?
Sports architecture today is a combination of aesthetics with functionality, beauty with practicality, and ease of use with ease of access. Due to its complex nature the design of sports infrastructure occupies a category of its own. Sports architecture matches the drama and hysteria in the stadium. Sports architecture has come a long way from the Colosseum in ancient Rome to the intriguing birds-nest-like stadium being built by Herzog and de Meuron for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Colosseum
Originally capable of seating 45,000–50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. The amphitheatre, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, was completed in 80 AD under Titus.

The Colosseum remained in use for nearly 500 years with the last recorded games held there as late as the 6th century — well after the traditional date of the fall of Rome in 476. As well as the traditional gladiatorial games, many other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.

The exterior of the Colosseum (in the photo), shows the partially intact outer wall (right) and the mostly intact inner wall (centre and left).

The Colosseum measures 48 metres in height, 189 metres in length, and 156 metres in width, with a base area of 6 acres. It  has been a model for all stadia that have come up in the world thereafter.

In recent times, stadia have been futuristic. The Allianz Arena, football stadium in Munich, which was one of the venues for 2006 FIFA World Cup literally changes colours. It is lit up red when Bayern Munich played, blue when 1860 Munich played and white when in use by the German national team.

Bird’s nest
The Beijing National Stadium, also known as the bird’s nest, which will be the main track and field stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics and will be host to the opening and closing ceremonies, is both futuristic and aesthetic in structure.  The stadium’s appearance is one of synergy, with no distinction made between the facade and the superstructure. The structural elements mutually support each other and converge into a grid-like formation - almost like a bird’s nest with its interwoven twigs. The spatial effect of the stadium is novel and radical, yet simple and of an almost archaic immediacy, thus creating a unique historical landmark.

Back home
Koramangala and Kanteerava Indoor stadia were built during the 1997 Fourth National Games in Bangalore. Koramangala stadium, built at a cost of Rs 8 crore with a seating capacity of 2,000, was the venue for fashion shows and exhibitions.Kanteerava indoor stadium, which is used more for exhibitions and conventions than for sports, is a marvel of sports architecture in Bangalore. The 4,000-capacity venue was constructed by Larsen and Toubro at a cost of Rs 19 crore. The stadium’s uniqueness lies in its dome-shaped roof made up of 120-roof semi-circular components each weighing 55 tonnes. Using the precasting technique all the 120 components were made on the ground and lifted into place. The unusual roof design was prompted by the elliptical shape of the stadium - 119 metres long and 91 metres wide, the space made available for constructing it. Inside all the 4,000 spectators can have an unobstructed view of the 65 x 35 metres floor. Consumer and industrial exhibitions, film award functions, religious meets and birthday celebrations of politicians are held here, but that is because there are not many sporting events during the year.

 Brindavan Nagar is home to the BCC’s super sports complex with multifarious facilities under one roof. Called Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex and built at a cost of Rs 14 crore, it is open to the public to train and play. The tennis courts have been built by Atul Gurjar’s Syncotts International, who are representing the Ohio-based US company Seal Masters, the original builders of the courts where the US Open is held. The Complex has a 200-metre athletic track.

  The 6.75 acre plot provides infrastructure for 16 games - badminton (two courts), basketball, volleyball, squash, table tennis, billiards, aerobics, chess, health club, yogasana and karate room, chess and lawn tennis along with a cricket pitch, football, hockey and handball courts. A separate indoor auditorium can accommodate about 400 people, rooms for sports personalities, a pavilion, a skating rink. An indoor stadium for basketball has a seating capacity of 700 people. The grandstand can accommodate around 2,500 people.

Some of the international schools that have come up in the outskirts of Bangalore have world-class sporting facilities.

In a way sports architecture in Bangalore has finally arrived.