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The Identity and Spectacle of Sport As a Modern Piazza

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The Identity and Spectacle of Sport as a Modern Piazza A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture in the department of Architecture of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning by Mackenzie M Grause Bachelor of Science in Architecture University of Cincinnati May 2015 Committee Chair: M. McInturf, M.Arch. Committee Member: A. Kanekar, Ph.D. Abstract Sports have always been and always will be a significant part of our every day lives. This thesis contends that in order to continue to serve the community and cities in which the stadia are located, they must be designed as a modern day piazza. Historically, the Mesoamerican civilizations as well as the Ancient Greeks and Romans, treated their athletic facilities and buildings with such significance that they placed these facilities in the city center. This thesis argues that today these sporting facilities also serve the community the same way the Italian piazza serves communities. Major stadium facilities such as Detroit’s new professional hockey and basketball arena, the proposal for AC Milan’s soccer stadium, and the London Olympic stadium, all represent a sporting venue that effectively engages the community. They also serve as a polyfunctional spaces that can be used by many different clients at varying times. In doing so, these stadia have the ability to transform and completely rejuvenate areas of cities. This thesis contends that past, present, and future stadia are all examples of a piazza through their symbolic nature, social function, focal point of the community, and center of daily life. Much like the Stadium of Domitian at its inception was a sporting facility, but over time, there was a natural progression towards the piazza, it exemplifies the close connection between a stadium and a piazza and makes the case that the stadium is a modern day piazza that transforms the core urban fabric of a place into a space. By developing the FC Cincinnati Stadium in the dilapidated west end of Newport, Kentucky, the stadium centered design exemplifies the necessity of the correlation between the piazza and the stadium. ii iii Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 SPORTS IN MESOAMERICA ................................................................................................................................. 2 SPORTS IN ANCIENT GREECE ............................................................................................................................. 4 SPORTS IN ANCIENT ROME ................................................................................................................................ 6 MODERN DAY SPORTING PIAZZAS ................................................................................................................... 8 AC MILAN STADIUM PROPOSAL .......................................................................................................................................... 10 LITTLE CAESARS ARENA ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 LONDON OLYMPIC STADIUM ................................................................................................................................................ 14 NANJING SPORTS PARK ......................................................................................................................................................... 15 FUTURE USE OF STADIUMS .............................................................................................................................. 18 FC CINCINNATI IN THE MLS .............................................................................................................................. 19 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................ 24 WORKS CITED ...................................................................................................................................................... 26 iv List of Tables/Figures Figure 1 : Ballgame Court Figure 2 : Greek Athletic Site Plan Figure 3 : The Roman Colosseum Figure 4 : Piazza San Marco Figure 5 : AC Milan Proposed Stadium Figure 6 : Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena Figure 7 : London Olympic Stadium Figure 8 : Nanjing Sports Complex Figure 9 : Stadium of Domitian Figure 10 : Mapping of Professionalism (Personal Graphic) Figure 11 : Zip Codes of Ticket Buyers (Personal Graphic) Figure 12 : Locations of Potential Sites (Personal Graphic) Figure 13 : Building Types of Newport, Kentucky Site (Personal Graphic) v Introduction The inception of sports has shaped the world that the shear identity of a community is created by the spectacle of sports itself. Dating back to 2500 BC1, sports have been bringing people together, tearing them apart, and in a more modern application, creating a sense of community, both nationally and internationally. (Cartwright). They develop a brand and thus, create an identity that becomes a part of the region in which the team resides. With that identity comes a strong sense of pride. Whether that is with a hometown team at the high school, collegiate, or professional level, when a sports team or franchise succeeds, that town and its people flourish. The identity is defined by the physical aspect of the stadium. Rob Sheard, a founder and senior principal at Populous stated, “a stadium, more than any other building type in history, has the ability to shape a town or city. A stadium is able to put a community on the map, establishing an identity and providing a focal point in the landscape,” 2(Sheard & Rod). Dating back to ancient times, sporting events were held in well defined, formal arrangements. Whether that was the ball game courts from early Mesoamerica, the Greek sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, or the Roman Colosseum, all of these sporting events took place in a stadium. Although these ancient stadia are very different pieces of architecture than what we consider stadia today, the underlying characteristic remains consistent to these today. These places, though of sport, also serve the community in a similar manner to the Italian piazza. A piazza is defined as “an open square especially in an Italian town,” 3(Merriam-Webster). Past, present, and future stadia 1 Cartwright, Mark, The Ball Game of Mesoamerica, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2014, 2 Sheard, Rod, The Stadium Architecture for the New Global Culture (Periplus, 2005). 3 Merriam-Webster, Piazza, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/piazza are all examples of this piazza through their symbolic nature, social function, focal point of the community, and center of daily life. The stadium, therefore, is a modern day piazza that transforms the core urban fabric of a place into a space, because “where the crowds gather history is made,” 4(Sheard & Rod). Sports in Mesoamerica In as early as 2500 BC, humans have been playing sports. Generally, these sports all stem from a religious background and origin that honored the gods in which the civilizations believed and were held to show their respects. “The sport known simply as the Ball Game was popular across Mesoamerica and played by all the major civilizations from the Olmecs to the Aztecs,” 5 (Cartwright). Much like today’s sporting facilities, “the impressive stone courts became a staple feature of a city’s sacred complex and there were often several playing courts in a single city,” 6(Cartwright). Religion and a source of entertainment were two of the reasons why this civilization played Ball Game. Additionally, this game related to their strong relationship to the sun. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art: The movement of the ball across the court is analogous to the movement of the sun across the sky. The ballgame represents a battle between day and night, when the sun must pass through the Underworld before riding again at dawn. Closely connected to this idea is the theme of agricultural fertility; this is ensured through the movement of celestial bodies, which create seasons and rainfall. Ballcourts were also thought of as connections to the Underworld. The ballgame 4 Sheard, The Stadium Architecture for the New Global Culture 5 Cartwright, Mark, The Ball Game of Mesoamerica, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2014, https://www.ancient.eu/article/604/the-ball-game-of-mesoamerica/. 6 Cartwright, The Ball Game of Mesoamerica. 2 was the setting for mythological battles between the forces of life and death. (Earley). 7 In connection with this game’s relationship to the Earth, the ballgame required a stadium. Due to its popularity, there were more than 1,500 ballcourts in Mesoamerica (Earley). 8The Epiclassic city of Cantona has an incredible 24 courts with at least 18 being contemporary. “El Tajín also has a remarkable number of courts (at least 11)” and it was considered “a sacred center for the sport, much like Olympia for athletics in ancient Greece,” (Cartwright). 9The playing fields for this game had a similar set up to present settings for sports. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “the central playing field is flanked by two long and thin rectangular buildings, which may have served as stands or viewing areas,” 10(Earley). Much like stadiums
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