Movable seating
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Movable seating is a feature of some modern stadiums, often known as convertible stadiums, or moduable stadiums. It allows for the movement of parts of the grandstand to allow for a change of the playing surface's shape. This allows games that use various shaped playing surfaces such as an oval field/pitch, for cricket and/or Australian rules football; or a rectangular field/pitch, for football (soccer), rugby league, rugby union, American football and/or Canadian football; or a diamond field/pitch, for baseball; to be played in the same stadium. This is particularly useful in Australia and the United States, where sports in general are very popular, and many different playing surfaces are used. The process of conversion from one form to another is time consuming - depending on the stadium it can take from 8<ref name="telstrastadium">Telstra Stadium - Reconfiguration.</ref> to 20<ref name="stadedefrance">State de France - Key figures.</ref> hours. Many stadiums were built in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s to host both baseball and American football.
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[edit] Stadiums with movable seating
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- Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, opened in 1975, was the first major stadium in the United States with movable seating. Four movable sections allow it to be reconfigured for baseball, (American) football, soccer, or concerts. However, the stadium managers have decided to permanently lock the stands in the football configuration effective in 2007, citing maintenance costs for the equipment used to move the sections.
- Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida, USA, home of the Miami Dolphins (National Football League), has a movable stand to accommodate the Florida Marlins (National League).
- Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA also features movable seating, with layouts for the Minnesota Twins (American League) and for the Minnesota Vikings (National Football League). It has also hosted NBA and college basketball games as well as soccer events.
- McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA is the home venue for the Oakland Raiders (National Football League) and Oakland Athletics (American League).
- Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., USA uses movable seating to accommodate the Washington Nationals (National League) and the D.C. United (Major League Soccer) until 2008, when the Nationals plan to move to a new stadium.<ref>Johnson, Chuck (2005-01-25). Nationals rounding third, heading home. USA Today. Retrieved on 2006-08-11.</ref>
- Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada has separate layouts for the Toronto Blue Jays (American League) and the Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League).
- Stade de France in Paris, France was built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. It has a movable stand which covers an athletics track. <ref name="stadedefrance">State de France - Key figures.</ref>
- Telstra Dome (formerly Colonial Stadium, Docklands Stadium) in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia was completed in 2000. Features such as movable seating and a closable roof allow for the venue to host many sports and entertainment events. <ref>Telstra Dome Fact Sheet.</ref> It is also the first stadium in Australia to have this feature.
- Telstra Stadium (formerly Stadium Australia) was the Olympic Stadium at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Between 2001-2003 it was re-configured and the movable seating was implemented. <ref name="telstrastadium">Telstra Stadium - Reconfiguration.</ref>
[edit] Proposed stadiums with movable seating
- Stadium WA, a working name for a proposed stadium in Perth, Western Australia, has movable seating as part of its initial plans. <ref>Stadium WA - 'About' page.</ref>
[edit] Former stadiums with movable seating
- Mile High Stadium in Denver added a large movable stand in a 1977 expansion project. A hydraulic process allowed the stadium to change from a football to a baseball configuration in about two hours. The longtime home of the NFL's Denver Broncos, it became the original home of baseball's Colorado Rockies in 1993. The Rockies drew all-time MLB record crowds in their first two seasons before leaving Mile High for their new Coors Field in 1995. Mile High was torn down after its football-only replacement, INVESCO Field at Mile High, was opened in 2001.
[edit] References
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