Sports Stadia– Catalyst for Urban Regeneration
of the Local Community?
A theoretical study on the role of sports stadia in the urban regeneration of the local community including a comparative case study of stadia in England (New Wembley, Emirates Stadium, New
Anfield, New White Hart Lane) and the Netherlands (New Kuip)
Dennis Blom
Universiteit van Amsterdam
Masterthesis Urban and Regional Planning Supervisor: Menno van der Veen
Title: Sports Stadia – Catalyst for Urban Regeneration of the Local Community?
University of Amsterdam Faculty of Social Sciences
Master Urban and Regional Planning Supervisor: Menno van Veen 20th of June, 2014 Dennis Blom Noordland 38 2548 WB, The Hague dennisblom04@gmail.com 0623226226 UvA no: 10547096
Preface
The present master’s thesis is the end of my one-year Master Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Amsterdam. I have had the opportunity to build this research around strong personal interest which derive from my personal real-life experiences as a football fan and football player. All my life I have been fascinated about new sports stadia. Every time a new stadium is built, I want to know everything about it. For me it was very special to include the new Kuip case in this research, because as a youth player of Feyenoord I played several times a pre-match in the Kuip. I decided to examine the new Kuip, because it is today a hot topic in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the plans were during my research still at an early stage so I could not examine the new stadium plans in detail. Though, it was interesting to see the difference between the English urban regeneration stadia and the new Kuip case at this early stage. I hope I contributed to the international debate and on the sly I hope to contribute to the final new Kuip plans from an urban planning viewpoint.
For me, writing this thesis has been a rewarding and thought-provoking experience. During this research I found out that many beautiful stadia that offers many economic benefits to the club owners or football clubs, are often not good in terms of urban regeneration. In the context of economic crisis it seems for me desirable stadia should be designed for clubs and public spill-overs. In this way stadia also have value for disadvantaged local communities. Consequently, because of this research I currently look at stadia very different than I was used to. At first the inside of the new stadia and the outside with respect to flagship architecture was very interesting for me, now I’m more into the role of stadia within local communities.
I would also like to use this preface to thank a number of people. First of all my parents, friends and fellow students for their interest and stimulating words while writing this thesis. I could not have done it without them. I also have to thank my thesis supervisor Menno van der Veen. The pleasant cooperation, suggestions and feedback have sent me in the right direction.
Finally, I hope this study inspires and helps other people to carry out similar research on the impact of sports stadia on urban regeneration of disadvantaged areas. In addition, I hope policy makers become more aware of the importance of sports-related regeneration and the creation of an integrated area-based strategy with the building of new or renovation of existing stadia. In this way the expensive stadia will also produce positive spill-overs and public benefits, instead of focusing on the benefits for the respective clubs.
Dennis Blom
Abstract
Anywhere around Europe, from England to Spain, stadia are built or upgraded for mainly economic reasons. Often the stadia projects are focused on the interests of the sports teams, and not on the value of stadia for the local community. The use of constructing or upgrading sports stadia as a tool for regenerating cities has become very popular in Europe, and especially in England, recent years. In England clubs and stadia are very much attached to the local community. Therefore the clubs in general do not relocate to out-of-town locations, which is for instance very common in Germany. This is also the reason the German stadia are do not have value for the local community in terms of urban regeneration, and the English “urban regeneration stadia” do. The English sports stadia are often the centre of a development of an area and thus seen as catalyst for urban regeneration of a neighbourhood. However, there is some disagreement about the benefits of stadia. Are stadia really a catalyst for urban regeneration of a local community? Numerous authors have criticized the value of the economic promises. The benefits of sports stadia are also questioned because the benefits for the local community have been poorly researched. Although there are many views on the positive and negative effects of sports stadia, theoretical insight on what conditions stadia must meet in order to actually have a function for a local community is missing. This research has therefore a theoretical perspective, which means that based on existing literature, expert interviews, own research and a policy analysis of several case studies a number of conditions are formulated which (future) stadia must meet to have value for local community. Aim is to investigate how stadia can act as a catalyst for urban regeneration in disadvantaged working-class quarters. This eventually leads to recommendations, conditions which stadia must meet, that is very relevant to today’s practice of building or upgrading stadia within disadvantaged working-class quarters like the case of the new Kuip in Rotterdam. This research provides evidence to suggest that sports stadia can have a positive impact on a disadvantaged working-class quarter, but that stadia must meet certain conditions in order to actually act as a catalyst and have value for a local community.
Table of contents
1. Sports Stadia and Urban Regeneration – Introduction……...7
1.1 Introduction……….……….………7
1.2 Problem statement, aim and research question(s)………..………...8
1.3 Innovation and relevance……….………..9
1.3.1 Social context………9 1.3.2 Scientific context……….…10 1.4 Thesis outline………..………….10 1.4.1 Methodology………..10 1.4.2 Theory……….11 1.4.3 Conclusion………11
2. Sports Stadia and Urban Regeneration - Research Design ………12
2.1 Operationalization……….12
2.2 Research design and methods………..13
2.2.1 Phase 1: Theoretical design. Methods: Literature study, expert-interviews and own research………..13
2.2.2 Phase 2: Comparative case study design. Method: Policy analysis……….…….15
2.2.2.1 Case studies……….15
2.2.2.2 Case selection……….15
2.2.3 Phase 3: Concluding design. Method: Creation of conditions……….………16
2.3 Data analysis………..16
2.4 Reliability and validity ………16
2.5 Limitations………....……….…17
3. Sports Stadia and Urban Regeneration - Theoretical Framework……….…………..18
3.1 Sport stadia development………18
3.1.1 Sports stadia through history: transition from downtown normal stadia to stadia having a function for the local community………..…….………..………18
3.1.2 Present-day stadia……….………….………..27
3.1.3 Stadia culture and context dependent………..……….……….28
3.2 Sports-related urban regeneration………...31
3.2.1 Four elements of urban regeneration………..31
3.2.1.1 Economic……….………..32
3.2.1.2 Environmental………32
3.2.1.3 Physical………33
3.2.1.4 Social……….………33
3.2.2 Three models of sports-related urban regeneration……….33
3.2.2.1 Model 1: Sports-led Regeneration – “iconic flagship projects”………..34
3.2.2.2 Model 2: Sports-Regeneration – ”integrated area-based strategy”………...34
3.2.2.3 Model 3: Sport and Regeneration – “independent interventions”………..……34
3.3 Sports stadia as catalyst for urban regeneration……….………35
3.3.1 Economic: Spin-off of stadia in semi-urban working-class quarters ………..35
3.3.2 Environmental: Upgrading environment to improve resident’s quality of life ………36
3.3.3 Physical: Improved accessibility and architectural iconic design………36
3.3.4 Social: New image of the neighbourhood, increase in public health and involvement of local residents………37
3.4 Sports stadia as barrier for urban regeneration………38
3.4.1 Economic: Great uncertainty about the economic promises and the contribution to the local community ………38 3.4.2 Environmental: Nuisance and (visual) pollution for residents without experiencing benefits
……….……39
3.4.3 Physical: Influence of large companies and organizations ……….…..40
3.4.4 Social: Wrong kind of visitors, social exclusion and opposition of local residents ………41
3.5 Conclusion………..41
4. Sports Stadia and Urban Regeneration - Tensions………..43
4.1 Tension 1: Design and location of stadia………..……….43
4.2 Tension 2: Flagship architecture……….……….44
4.3 Tension 3: Rising property prices.. negative or positive?...45
4.4 Tension 4: Negative or positive impact on social environment?.………..………..46
4.5 Tension 5: New large companies vs local entrepreneurs…………...……….47
4.6 Tension 6: Growth at the expense of existing entertainment districts?...47
4.7 Tension 7: Resident’s quality of life………..………48
4.8 Conclusion………..………48
5. Sports Stadia and Urban Regeneration – Cases………50
5.1 English regeneration stadia……….………..…….50
5.1.1 New Wembley………50
5.1.2 Emirates Stadium……….51
5.1.3 New Anfield……….52
5.1.4 New White Hart Lane………53
5.2 New Kuip………..54
5.2.1 Ambition for a new stadium………54
5.2.2 Renovation: multifunctional state-of-the-art Kuip………..55
5.2.3 Mixed use Kuip?...57
5.3 Comparison……….58
5.4 Conclusion – advice for the new Kuip………..59
6. Sports Stadia and Urban Regeneration – Conclusion...……….………61
6.1 Answer to sub-questions……….….61
6.2 Answer to research question……….………65
6.3 Recommendations……….65
6.4 Reflection……….66
Bibliography - Literature………..……….………67
1. Sports Stadia and Urban Regeneration – Introduction
his first chapter provides an introduction to the study. Firstly, in section 1.1 an introduction to the subject will be presented, before moving on to the research question(s) of the research in section 1.2. After this the social and scientific relevance will be discussed (section 1.3) and the thesis outline in section 1.4 concludes this introductory chapter.
1.1 Sports stadia and urban regeneration
Nowadays a lot of clubs, cities and countries across Europe choose to build new sports stadia or upgrade existing stadia. In France many stadia are built and renewed for the European Championship 2016. Also in the rest of Europe are numerous examples of recently proposed new stadia. This includes for instance football clubs AS Roma, Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid, which are major clubs across Europe who are currently engaged in constructing new stadia in order to help bridge the gap between them and the top teams in those countries financially. Those stadia are built primarily for clubs with an inside-oriented view to generate revenue for the respective clubs. On the other hand, many stadia around the world are primarily built serving a national need for a major flagship event with sometimes no legacy of use after the event. This happened in many stadia built for the World Cup or the Olympic Games. The Netherlands has already faced a period of constructing new sports stadia. The Netherlands was several years ago even an example to the rest of Europe with the construction of multifunctional stadia like the Amsterdam ArenA and Gelredome.
Back in the days, sports stadia were designed to accommodate as much spectators as possible with no value for the local community. Nevertheless, the last two decades many cities across Europe are increasingly using sports-related mega-projects like the development of stadia as the key player in economic and urban development strategies of cities (Searle, 2002). Stadia and related major events can act as an important catalyst for urban regeneration and consequently result in direct benefits for the local community: they have the potential to boost economic growth, improve infrastructure and create new job opportunities (Chema, 1996; Jones, 2001; Chanayil, 2002; Thornley, 2002; Chapin, 2004; Kavetsos and Szymanski, 2010). It is not always about economic objectives, Thornley (2002) notes for instance the positive contribution of football club Manchester United to the changed image of the city of Manchester. The focus on the local community means the emergence of urban regeneration stadia, which are primarily present in England. A few years ago the Netherlands was at the forefront of stadium development, in contrast today England is an example to rest of Europe. The construction of the new Kuip in Rotterdam is a hot topic as we speak, how does this Dutch example relate to urban regeneration and have value for the local community?
The positive effects of stadia and the associated major events on cities justify according to Ahlfeldt and Maennig (2010) the enormous costs of building stadia, but in many small-exploratory case studies and general literature (Baade and Dye, 1990; Baim, 1994; Baade, 1996a and 1996b; Coates and Humphreys, 2000; Siegfried and Zimbalist, 2000; Chapin, 2004; Robinson et al., 2011) no (economic) benefits to the local community are found. Development of stadia can be important for the image and economy of the city as a whole or just for the club. In this way sports stadia only serve city´s or the club’s interests and are an obstacle for urban regeneration of the local community. Nevertheless, stadia also have a local impact because it often results in parking problems and congestion for the local community. The effects of stadium projects are thus controversial. Although many present-day stadia aim to have a big impact on urban regeneration, Gratton et al. (2005) state many of the benefits to the local community have been poorly researched. While planned new stadia in Europe aim to have a major impact on the regeneration of an area, this impact is questioned in literature. The literature, however, has not yet been able to formulate conditions stadia must meet
T
to actually have a function for urban regeneration in a local community besides city’s purposes. Therefore this research is aimed to get more insight in the role of stadia with urban regeneration of neighbourhoods, because nowadays the enormous costs of stadium construction also needs to result in public benefits. There is a need for a theoretical substantiation from an urban planning perspective, to help and justify the construction or renovation of future stadia which aim to deal with urban regeneration of a local community. How can sports stadia act as a catalyst for urban regeneration that enriches and cater for local community’s needs?
1.2 Problem statement, aim and research question(s)
Scientific literature has shown that in many cases a big project like the construction or makeover of sports stadia is the key player and catalyst of the development of an entire area. Much research was devoted to the role of stadium developments and the upgrading of disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This contributed to the insight that sports stadia can have positive and negative effects for urban regeneration of a neighbourhood. Consequently, the impact of sports stadia on urban regeneration of a local community is questioned. The construction of stadia have much impact at the local community level. However, minor understanding exists in the role of stadia as catalyst for urban regeneration for a local community, to cater for local communities’ needs besides city’s and sports team’s needs. Although the English urban regeneration stadia aim to have a big impact on the local community, literature lacks evidence that sports stadia can have a function for the upgrading of a local community. Moreover, Thornley (2002) argues most of the literature about the impact of sports stadia is from the North American context and primarily focuses on the regional level. This research explores the impact of stadia on the local community level in Europe and therefore addresses the identified shortfall in literature and contributes to the evidence base of sports stadia and urban regeneration. Because of the disagreement about the impact of stadia, the aim of this study is to identify several tensions stadia have to deal with regarding the urban regeneration of the local community. By doing this, the general goal of this study is to investigate how sports stadia can act as a catalyst for urban regeneration for a local community and what conditions stadia should meet to act actually as a catalyst and cater for local community’s needs. It uses existing literature, the expert opinion of people working or living in the field of stadium development, own research about the stadia of the clubs of the highest division of the eight best countries based on the UEFA country ranking 2013/2014 and a policy analysis of several English stadia compared to the new Kuip in Rotterdam. Hereby this study will constantly refer to different stadia in Europe, based on small-scale exploratory case studies such as Jones (2001), Newman and Tual (2002), Ahlfeldt and Maennig (2010) and Smink (2010). Based on all gathered information advice will be produced for the role of (future) stadia in disadvantaged working-class quarters in Europe, which is especially useful for the new Kuip case. The following research question and sub-questions are central to this study:
Research question:
How can sports stadia act as a catalyst for urban regeneration and have value for the local community in working-class-quarters?
Sub-questions:
What is the relationship between sports-related development, like the construction of stadia, and urban regeneration?
What are the positive effects of (new) sports stadia to act as a catalyst for urban regeneration and have value for the local community in working-class-quarters?
What are the negative effects of (new) sports stadia to act as a barrier for urban regeneration and have no value for the local community in working-class-quarters?
What are the tensions for urban regeneration (new) sports stadia must have to take into account?
What conditions must (new) sports stadia meet to make urban regeneration possible and cater for the needs of the local community?
What suggestions and advice can be provided for future sports stadia, and the Kuip in particular, having value for the local community in working-class-quarters?
1.3 Innovation and relevance
The motive for this research is twofold. On the one hand, the motive is a societal “problem” because present-day there is much debate about this subject. On the other hand, the motive of this study is a broader scientific discussion. This section makes clear what this study adds to our knowledge of the role of stadia within the regeneration of a disadvantaged working-class quarters. This research is written in English because, although writing in Dutch would foster readability, the thesis is now connected with international research and debate. Only Dutch quotes from interviews or the literature were accepted verbatim.
1.3.1 Social context
This research is an attempt to make a particular social issue clear. It is about the function of stadia for urban regeneration local communities. Often the construction or renovation of sports stadia is the centre of a project and seen as a catalyst for urban regeneration. Hence this research adds on to the current policy debate concerning whether to build a new or renovate a stadium or not and to what extent it is a catalyst for urban regeneration of a local community. The practical relevance of this research lies in the applicability of the gained insights for the policy practise especially within today’s debate about the World Cup stadia in Brazil and the contribution of the stadia to the often poor Brazilian communities. A good Dutch example is the present-day discussion in Rotterdam about the new Kuip of football club Feyenoord. By comparing the new Kuip plans with several English urban regeneration stadia, like for example the already constructed new Wembley and Emirates Stadium in London, certain things can be possibly learned. Because of the enormous costs of sports stadia, there should be as much positive spill-overs for the local community as possible. This research aims to recommend certain conditions sports stadia should meet to act as a catalyst for urban regeneration and have a function and value for the local community. In this way sports stadia do not only serve city’s or sports team’s interests, but also contribute to the interests of the local community. This insight is very relevant for today’s debate about (new) sports stadia and their role with urban regeneration of disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The case of the new Kuip in Rotterdam illustrates this relevance. The findings of this study are relevant for many people in the field of stadium development in Europe, especially for the new Kuip case. This study, from an urban planning viewpoint, can contribute to the new Kuip plans with several English stadia as reference framework and used to give the new Kuip the best possible function in the working-class quarter Rotterdam-Zuid. However, this research and associated conclusions are also useful for other (future) stadia in Europe.
1.3.2 Scientific context
This thesis contributes on the debate and existing theoretical knowledge on stadium impact by combining several general theoretical insights to produce a framework in terms of conditions for future stadium developments. This is important for scientists in several fields like urban planning, economics, architecture and many others because stadia developments can have enormous impacts on the environment and on people (e.g. health). Despite the importance, the contemporary scientific literature about this subject contains certain gaps. Most of the scientific literature about cities and stadium development is based on small-scale case studies of North American stadia. However, Thornley (2002) and Davies (2010) claim the fundamental differences between the funding and development of stadia in North America and Europe limits the use of the observations in Europe. They both claim cities in North America compete strongly with each other to attract big clubs to their city, while in Europe the geographical movement of clubs is very unlikely.
Nevertheless, Searle (2002) claims the evidence from North America has general lessons for cities in Europe. The main body of literature on sports stadia and urban regeneration suggests, although major sports-related projects have an important role in the development of many cities, the high costs do not always result in benefits for the local community. Davies (2008) suggests the research focus over the past decades has been the national economic importance of sport and therefore evidence to support sports-related development to help regeneration goals is questioned. Although several authors investigated the (economic) benefits of major sports events, Gratton et al. (2005) argue research has paid minor attention to the benefits of stadia to the local community. Furthermore, Davies (2010) highlights the small-scale case studies on sports stadia like the study of Jones (2001) and Newman and Tual (2002) on the Cardiff Millennium Stadium and the Stade de France, provide little strong evidence that can be used in other cases. This is because those case studies examined stadia serving a national need, and not stadia primarily built for clubs. Although the benefits of sports-related regeneration are recognized, the evidence from the contemporary literature is according to Davies (2008 and 2010) still not strong enough to justify the building of expensive stadia. Therefore is according to Gratton et al. (2005) and Davies (2008 and 2010) additional research needed to extend evidence for sports-related regeneration for a better understanding of the role of sports stadia in major regeneration projects. The literature has for instance not yet been able to build a framework for sports stadia to maximize the benefits and minimalize the negative impacts in terms of conditions. This research responds to the lack of evidence and tries to fill in the gap in knowledge of the function of sports stadia to act as a catalyst for urban regeneration within a local community to allow more investment in major sports stadia. This will result in additional evidence to support sports-related regeneration to produce benefits for local communities. The theoretical perspective of this study from an urban planning viewpoint, can add to the insight on the function of sports stadia on a local scale for urban regeneration.
1.4 Thesis outline
In order to achieve a responsible answer to the main research question this theoretical research has a methodological, theoretical and a concluding component. To conclude this introductory chapter, now the content and coherence of the three components is described.
1.4.1 Methodology
First of all, in Chapter 2 the research design of the study will be discussed. The operationalization of important concepts, the research methods, the data analysis, the reliability and validity and the limitations and constraints will be described.
1.4.2 Theory
The theoretical framework is presented in Chapter 3 in which main concepts, theories and debates about the subject will be discussed. It elaborates on the phenomenon of sports stadia, the key elements of urban regeneration and the specific positive and negative effects of stadia for urban regeneration of a local community. Expert-interviews and own research about European stadia will also be used for feedback of the theory. This theory has prompted discussions of some tensions that (new) stadia faces for urban regeneration of a certain area considered in the next section of this thesis (Chapter 4). This is followed by a policy analysis in Chapter 5 of four English stadia which were combined with urban regeneration projects, and the new Kuip case in which this combination is questioned. This aims to highlight the difference between English stadia and the new Kuip case and will identify the area in which the new Kuip can learn from the English cases.
1.4.3 Conclusion
The conclusions of this study in Chapter 6 consists of relating all the parts together and answering the overarching research question and sub-questions. The findings of the study will be presented as conditions which sports stadia must meet if they want to act as a catalyst for urban regeneration and cater for local community’s needs. Also some recommendations will be made for further research and policy making. Following the conclusions, this study is concluded with a final consideration, with the researcher's own thoughts on the conclusions and the case study of the new Kuip in Rotterdam.
2. Sports Stadia and Urban Regeneration - Methodology
n this chapter the methodology of the research will be presented as a clear research. The research design represents the framework for collection and analysis of data (Yin, 2003; Bryman, 2008). The research design makes an attempt to give a clear foundation for this research to fill in the gap of the lack of evidence of the value of sports stadia in the upgrading of disadvantaged working-class quarters. First, the key concepts applied in this research will be operationalized in section 2.1, before moving on to the explanation of the overall design and research methods in section 2.2. Finally, the data analysis (section 2.3) and the reliability and validity (section 2.4) will be clarified and this chapter is concluded in section 2.5 by a discussion of the limitations of this research.
2.1 Operationalization
The transition from theory to empirical research is called the operational phase; it is the process in which theoretical concepts are made measurable (van Thiel, 2010). The theoretical concepts are defined and framed in Table 1.
Table 1: Operationalization of important concepts.
Term Explanation Author(s)
Stadium development
Stadium developments imply in this study the construction of new and the redevelopment of existing stadia. In this way the study tries to be comprehensive and modern, because in contrast to the past today’s stadium developments are also about the upgrading of existing stadia.
Working-class quarter
A working-class quarter (“volkswijk” in Dutch) implies in this study a traditional neighbourhood where “average people” live, mostly labour-class. A working-class quarter is disadvantaged because it consists of simple homes and a few services in often poor conditions. Residents in this situation often end up in a negative spiral which is hard to escape.
Urban regeneration
Urban regeneration is one of the most important strategies to address deprivation. It consists of a comprehensive and integrated vision to improve a declining and disadvantaged area economically, physically, socially and environmentally.
Roberts and Sykes, 2000; Tsenkova, 2002; Rousseau, 2009.
Sports-related urban regeneration
Major sports infrastructure, like stadia, are increasingly used as regeneration tools because it can have a positive impact on the regeneration of disadvantaged working-class quarters, beyond the other sports objectives. Sports-related regeneration refers therefore to the way major sports infrastructure can be used to regenerate an area economically, socially, environmentally and physically.
Evans, 2005; Ahlfeldt and Maennig, 2010; Davies, 2010.
Economic urban regeneration
Economic regeneration is an essential part of the process of urban regeneration. It is needed to counter the economic decline experienced by many disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The economic section of urban regeneration deals for example with the attraction of businesses to an area, which consequently leads to improved job opportunities for local people.
Roberts and Sykes, 2000; Thornley, 2002; Tsenkova, 2002; Smink, 2010; Legros, 2013. Environmental urban regeneration
The environmental quality of an area is important because the location decision of many firms and residents is based on
Roberts and Sykes, 2000; Tsenkova,
I
this aspect. The environmental side of regeneration is connected with the economic and physical elements of regeneration. Improving the environment can have benefits for both businesses and residents of the local community; the environmental perspective is important for resident’s quality of life. 2002; Ryan and Weber, 2008; Legros, 2013 Physical urban regeneration
Physical regeneration is the main engine of regeneration. The physical aspect of urban regeneration deals with the physical improvement of the neighbourhood with housing, transportation and public space. For example, the urban design of the environment affects housing values. There are many elements of the physical aspect including buildings, sites, open spaces, services and transport infrastructure.
Roberts and Sykes, 2000; Tsenkova, 2002.
Social urban regeneration
The urban environment of a neighbourhood is the social component of urban regeneration. The social component deals with the improvement of the social environment including healthcare, education and safety. A welcoming, safe and a pleasant environment is very important for people’s neighbourhood. This has also to do with the image of neighbourhoods. Economic growth can only be achieved if the negative image of disadvantaged areas is improved.
Roberts and Sykes, 2000; Tsenkova, 2002; Smink, 2010; Legros, 2013.
2.2 Research design and methods
The methodology is the framework of the research and research activities. The design of this study is a theoretical design and a combination of a case study design and a comparative design. The research uses multiple sources of information. Based on existing theory, expert-interviews, own research and a policy analysis of several cases as an inductive approach of reasoning, several tensions and in the end recommendations will be formulated as conditions. The following paragraphs will elaborate on the design and methods of the research.
2.2.1 Phase 1: Theoretical design. Methods: Literature study, expert-interviews and own research. This research from a theoretical perspective consists primarily of reading and analysing a lot of literature because theory is the framework of the study. First, by far the most important source of information is existing academic literature. Second, grey literature like government reports, dissertations and theses is used. However, the research is also empirical. In addition to the literature study, some expert-interviews are conducted. The expert-interviews serve as supplement to the other sources of information for the theoretical framework. Qualitative research is suitable for complex situations, if existing knowledge is inadequate (Bryman, 2008). A common method for gathering information is from interviews (van Thiel, 2007). In this research, qualitative research as part of the theory part is chosen to trace individual visions of different people who have been selected very carefully. According to Boeije et al. (2009) qualitative research is suitable for mapping the perspective of certain individuals or groups. With interviews, further insight into the phenomenon sports stadia and urban regeneration can be obtained. The expert-interview as research method is a specific form of semi‐structured interview which uses the knowledge and experience of persons with sports stadia and urban regeneration in addition to the theory. The semi-structured character means that interviews are semi-structured on the basis of a fixed number of questions or topics. These subjects are derived from the theoretical framework and Chapter 4 about the tensions. Table 2 illustrates the chosen experts who represent a broad range of groups who have had in some way experience with the development of stadia in the Netherlands.
Table 2: Overview of “experts”.
Interviewee Job
Germen Oosterhof Bewonersplatform Venserpolder
Henk Markerink CEO Amsterdam ArenA
Ben Veenbrink Stadium Consultancy
Arend Rutgers BAM/A&E Architecten
Wouter-Jan Verheul Technische Universiteit Delft
Residents/entrepreneurs neighbourhood the Kuip
-
The experts intend to cover an extensive range of knowledge about this phenomenon; so the interviewees are perceived as experts and are selected on basis of their knowledge, experience and expertise. An expert in this study is, based on the definition of Belting (2008), defined as a person who has a high degree of skill and knowledge in the domain of stadium development, due to long‐time experience and has status, power‐to‐act and decision‐making opportunities based on these skills and knowledge. In addition to the expert-interviews, several experts are not interviewed but are represented by different sources because not always interviews were possible. One person (Germen Oosterhof) has been questioned by e-mail and one person his opinion (Wouter-Jan Verheul) is represented by consulting his book (“Stedelijke iconen: het ontstaan van beeldbepalende projecten
tussen betoog en beton”) and several interviews on the internet. Also the view of Henk Markerink is
represented by several interviews on the internet. In this way it is attempted to express the opinion of the experts as good as possible. It should be noted that after conducting the interviews, and in addition the interviews with the residents and entrepreneurs, the decision was made that enough information was obtained and that conducting more interviews was not necessary. This also because of the theoretical design of the study; the expert-interviews are only used as addition to the theory. This is why a massive framework of interview is not necessary in this research. Quotes of the interviewees are shown in the text as follows:
Reference is made to the appendix because the entire interview can be consulted in the appendix. The striking quotes of the of the interviewees are in the text paraphrased in own words in English. The added value of the observations from the interviews is reflection on the consulted theory. In this way the consulted theory can be confirmed, rejected or supplemented.
In addition, own research about the stadia of the clubs of the highest division of the eight best countries based on the UEFA country ranking is included in this first phase. This ranking (see Table 3) is considered as a representative division to investigate stadia in Europe. Examining stadia of all European countries would be too much and unnecessary. The aim of this was to identify similarities and differences across Europe regarding stadium developments. The period since 1974 has been taken in order to see how the location of stadia has changed within cities, because this can explain a lot about the relationship with urban regeneration. Although the time period is until 2014, new stadia being built today until 2018 are also included in this study. This is done to extend the expiry
“……….” (see Appendix
date of this study. If the research only included stadia until 2014, the data would be soon outdated because many new stadia are today under construction especially for the European Championship 2016 in France and the World Cup 2018 in Russia.
Table 3: UEFA Country Ranking May 2014 and investigated stadia (only highest division).
# Country (1-4) Stadia # Country (5-8) Stadia
1 Spain 20 5 Portugal 16
2 England 20 6 France 20
3 Germany 18 7 Russia 16
4 Italy 20 8 The Netherlands 18
After reading a lot of (grey) literature, conducting some interviews and own research, things were still unclear and raised questions. This is where the tension part starts (Chapter 4). Several tensions are identified stadia have to deal with regarding the urban regeneration of the local community, based on Chapter 3.
2.2.2 Phase 2: Comparative case study design. Method: Policy analysis.
After the tension part, a policy analysis is carried out about several cases (Chapter 5). The design of this research is a combination of a case study design and a comparative design. First, it is a case study design because in phase 2 particular cases will be intensively investigated. The comparative design implies the existence of several cases who are compared with each other. The following paragraphs will elaborate on the design of the case studies.
2.2.2.1 Case studies
A case study is an in-depth study of a particular research problem used to narrow down a very broad field of research into a few researchable examples (Yin, 2003). It is a research strategy which focuses on understanding the dynamics present within single settings (Eisenhardt, 1989). The case study research design is useful for testing whether a specific theory and model actually applies to phenomena in the real world (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2003). Each stadium is subject of an individual study, but the study as a whole covers several stadia and in this way uses a multiple-case design. This thesis consists of embedded case studies, because every case is split in multiple units of analysis (generation, type of stadia development and model of sports-related regeneration). Multiple case studies have distinct advantages in comparison to single-case designs; Yin (2003) suggests evidence from multiple cases is considered more convincing and the overall study is therefore regarded as being more robust according to the replication logic.
2.2.2.2 Case selection
Studying several cases should reveal whether stadia in practice serve as a catalyst for the local community. By studying several cases, broader conclusions can be drawn about the consulted theory. In principle, any new stadium can be used as case study. However, the selection of cases consists of four English stadia and one Dutch stadium (see Table 4).
Table 4: Overview of cases.
Case Country Construction year
New Wembley England 2007
Emirates Stadium England 2006
New Anfield England 2016
New White Hart Lane England 2017
New Kuip The Netherlands 2018
The English stadia are chosen based on the theoretical framework and own research about the stadia of the clubs of the highest division of the eight best countries based on the UEFA country ranking 2014. This revealed that most of the English stadia are located on a semi-urban location and are often connected with urban regeneration projects. They are perceived as examples to the rest of Europe because those stadia are not relocated to the outskirts of the city, instead they stay on the existing location and are redeveloped and combined with large urban regeneration projects. In this way the stadia have value for the local community in disadvantaged working-class quarters. Two stadia are already constructed, and two stadia are proposed to be constructed in the coming years. The Dutch case, the new Kuip, is selected because there is at the moment much debate about the new stadium and the aim of this research is to contribute to the debate. Unfortunately, the plans of new Anfield, new White Hart Lane and new Kuip were during this research still at an early stage. This is why those cases are briefly analysed, while the already constructed cases new Wembley and Emirates Stadium are analysed in more detail. The Dutch case is perceived as equivalent as the English cases (e.g. all five stadia are located in a working-class quarter) and will be compared to each other. The added value of this method is to see if the heavily debated Rotterdam case can learn from the English cases.
2.2.3 Phase 3: Concluding design. Method: Creation of conditions
The last phase of this study consists of the concluding chapter in which all research- and sub-questions are answered based on the previous phases. Most important part is the formulation of conditions, as part of one of the sub-questions, which sports stadia should meet to act as a catalyst for urban regeneration and to have a function for the local community.
2.3 Data analysis
The concluding phase of this study consists of the creation of conditions on the basis of the consulted theory, policy analysis, expert-interviews and own research. All expert-interviews are recorded, transcribed, coded and analysed by the researcher itself. By using existing theory, the analysis of interviews began by identifying the key concepts as initial coding categories (deductive category application). Operational definitions for each category were determined using the theory (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005). The coding categories are the four defined elements of urban regeneration: economic, environmental, physical and social. The principle of triangulation have been taken into account. Triangulation means the use of multiple research methods in an investigation (Bryman, 2008). The policy analysis on key terms consists of the same method as the analysis of interviews; policy documents of the cases are analysed and compared with the new Kuip case by the same coding categories as key terms. The expert-interviews and policy analysis are part of phase 1 and 2 in addition to the consulted theory, phase 3 doesn’t consist of analysing but just the creation of
conditions and the final conclusions. At the end of Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 several important notes and recommendations are formulated. This is done like this:
Important notes/recommendations:
…….
Aim of this is to note the most important observations of the chapter and to build up to the conclusions of this study. By formulating the most important findings after each chapter, the source of the conditions and final recommendations in Chapter 6 is clear because those conclusions come from the case studies and theoretical research and they are a logical enumeration from the aforementioned notes.
2.4 Reliability and validity
The structured interviews provides a framework to ensure validity and reliability. In a semi-structured interview, an interview guide containing the main topics and questions will be used. The interview guide consists of initial open-ended questions, intermediate questions and ending questions. On the basis of the interview guide, the topics and the related questions are asked to the respondents in a fixed order. The interview process is still flexible because the interviewer follows to some extent a script. All respondents are interviewed according to a fixed pattern, which increases the repeatability and the reliability of the study. All residents from the surrounding neighbourhoods of the Kuip are for instance interviewed according to the same interview guide. This offers the possibility for other researchers to evaluate the analysis of the actual researcher (van Thiel, 2007; Bryman, 2008; Boeije et al., 2009). The internal validity of a theoretical research as this is high, especially because the research is really detailed due to the large amount and diversity of information. The theoretical framework of the study has identified a set of constructs to guide the whole process. The theory of interest and rival theories, in which stadia are not perceived as a catalyst for urban regeneration, are addressed to ensure internal validity. Although the internal validity is high, the generalization of the findings to other similar situations (external validity) is uncertain. The domain of this study is very broad (Europe), because although expert-interviews are mostly based on Dutch experience, the consulted literature, policy analysis and own research is from all over Europe. Triangulation will be used as much as possible to enhance the internal validity and the reliability. This is also why, in addition to the literature study and expert-interviews, own research has been included in the study. The theoretical study relies on multiple sources of evidence (science, grey literature, expert-interviews, policy analysis and own research) and the interview protocol ensures the reliability and replication.
2.5 Limitations
The limitations of this research are discussed in this paragraph. One possible limitation could be that arguing whether a stadium is a catalyst or not based on the creation of conditions, although it is based on a massive theoretical framework, expert-interviews, own research and policy analysis, it is still a subjective and arbitrary assessment. This is because it is theoretically possible that a stadium that meets only a few conditions is still a catalyst for urban regeneration. In that case, a stadium will partially act as a catalyst for urban regeneration. It is difficult to draw a border. Secondly, the number of interviews can be seen as a lack. However, this decision has been made during the process because it is primarily a theoretical design and there was enough adequate information available.
3. Sports Stadia and Urban Regeneration - Theoretical Framework
his chapter provides the theoretical framework of the research. Firstly, the history of the development of sports stadia in Europe will be examined in section 3.1. In addition, several textboxes will illustrate and underpin the theory with examples of real-life stadia to exemplify the typology of stadia locations and the different roles of the local community within this typology. After this the relation between sports-related development and urban regeneration will be discussed in section 3.2. The sections 3.3 and 3.4 will outline the disagreement (positive and the negative impacts) of stadia for urban regeneration based on four defined elements of urban regeneration.
3.1 Sports stadia development
3.1.1 Sports stadia through history: transition from stadia as downtown normal stadia to semi-urban stadia having a function for a local community
Sports stadia have evolved in the course of time. The development of sports stadia started in ancient Greece and Italy where stadia like the well-known Coliseum in Rome were mainly used for sports matches and gladiator shows (Farbrother, 2001; KPMG, 2012). The first modern stadia emerged in the late 19th century, because there was a growing demand for events for a wider audience and new technologies were introduced which made the construction of stadia easier (John et al., 2007; KPMG, 2012). Figure 1 shows the history of stadia and its three different locations which will be discussed in the next paragraphs.
Figure 1: Share of top division stadia locations in Europe 1900-2012.
Drawing on the theoretical analysis made by Chanayil (2002), Thornley (2002), Sheard (2005), Spampinato (2009) and KPMG (2012), five generations and three locations of stadia can be identified through history. The sixth stage has been added by the author itself. The typology of stadia locations reflects the stadium developments through history. The downtown city centre stadia were primarily visible in generation 1-2, the out-of-town stadia in generation 3-5 and the semi-urban working-class quarter in generation 5-6. The choice of location of new sports stadia can have far-reaching
T
consequences for the environment and consequently for urban regeneration. Back in the days, downtown sports stadia did not have any function for the local community; it were just places used to receive a lot of spectators during (sports) events. On the other hand, recent years has shown that the combination with urban regeneration projects in addition to semi-urban stadia projects has increasingly gained significance. The following generations of stadia and a threefold division of locations which reflects the six stages of stadia development through history are identified:
1st generation - large uncomfortable stadia 1. Downtown city centre
2nd generation - comfort stadia
3rd generation - commercial stadia 2. The outskirts of the city
4th generation - flexible multi-use stadia
5th generation - urban iconic flagship stadia
6th generation - urban regeneration stadia 3. Semi-urban working-class quarter
1st generation. Downtown: large uncomfortable stadia
Originally, sports stadia were primarily used to receive a large amount of spectators because of the lack of media (television, internet). Going to stadia was according to Farbrother (2001) and Ampt (2011) the only way to watch live sports. Because of this purpose, the stadia did not have any architectural value, were uncomfortable and the provision of facilities was basic (Sheard, 2005; Spampinato, 2009). This model of “stadia as normal stadia”, built to facilitate as much spectators as possible, was very common in Europe these years. Spampinato (2009) claims typical examples of European sports stadia were London Wembley (1923), Milan San Siro (1926), Berlin Olympiastadion (1936) and Madrid Santiago Bernabéu (1947). The main function of the first generation of sports stadia as “stadia as normal stadia” was in every case the same. The focus was on the sports events itself. Consequently, there was no emphasis on the function of stadia for the local community. The stadia of the first phase were regularly situated in the downtown city centre because most people lived over here. The downtown city centre is therefore the first identified location of the typology of locations of stadia. Are downtown city centre stadia capable to act as a catalyst for urban regeneration of the local community? Textbox 1 elaborates more on this issue, with an additional case study example from Cardiff to underpin the theory.
Textbox 1. Location 1: Downtown stadia. The case of the Cardiff Millennium Stadium.
The first identified location of sports stadia is the city centre. The downtown location of stadia was particularly common in Europe till the 1950s, but nowadays especially in North-America a lot of stadia are situated in the city centre. The positive effects of stadia on this city centre location are due to the integration of stadia in the social and transport structure of the city. Advantages are for example the already existing good infrastructure and transport facilities (Chanayil, 2002; Bay Area Economics, 2006; Maennig and Du Plessis, 2009). Though, according to Chanayil (2002) and Thornley (2002) downtown city centre stadia will not form a good catalyst for urban regeneration. How does this theory works out in practice? Although in Europe downtown city centre stadia are today not very common, there is one perfect recent European example of a downtown city centre stadium: the Cardiff Millennium Stadium. This stadium will be briefly examined to reveal whether the theory can be confirmed. Are downtown city centre
stadia really not capable to act as a catalyst for urban regeneration and have no value for the local community?
The Millennium Stadium (see Figure 2) was originally built for the Rugby World Cup 1999 in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Since then, it has been the home of the national rugby and football teams. In addition, the stadium is used for all kinds of events including large concerts (Millennium Stadium, 2014). The extent to which the stadium has been a catalyst for urban regeneration can be explored based on studies of Jones (2001), Jones et al. (2007) and Smink (2010). The Millennium Stadium was not built in a disadvantaged semi-urban working-class quarter, it was built in the city centre of Cardiff. This central location was chosen because they focused specifically on organizing international events, such as football matches of the national team of Wales, pop concerts, trade fairs and shows. The stadium and its associated events have had a major economic impact on Cardiff and on Wales; firstly because of the short-term expenditure impacts by visitors, and secondly by media exposure that resulted in long-term investment to Cardiff and Wales (Jones, 2001; Jones et al., 2007). Other benefits of the iconic stadium are hard to measure (e.g. identification). This is why the effects of place marketing, media coverage and visitation have been most noticeable (Jones et al., 2007). However, the construction of the Millennium Stadium was not combined with urban regeneration projects; the interests of the surrounding neighbourhoods were completely ignored. The focus was primarily on high profile and place marketing. Although the stadium hosted many major international events and the international position of the city of Cardiff have been strengthened by the arrival of the stadium, the Millennium Stadium has clearly not been a catalyst for urban regeneration of the local community (Jones, 2001; Smink, 2010). The theory can in this way be confirmed: downtown stadia are not a good catalyst for urban regeneration of the local community. This does not mean downtown stadia are bad stadia, because the Millennium Stadium has brought major economic benefits to the city of Cardiff and Wales. Wales has gained according to Jones et al. (2007) a long-term comparative advantage for Wales in major event hosting. Nevertheless, for having value of a local community and regeneration the location of the city centre is not the best option.
2nd generation. Out-of-town: comfort stadia
The emergence of live television coverage of sports matches in the late 1950s ended the first generation of stadia. This first generation stadia, which were designed to accommodate as much as spectators as possible, were in bad conditions and because of this people increasingly stayed at home and avoided the old downtown stadia (Farbrother, 2001; Sheard, 2005; Spampinato, 2009). The physical aging problem of uncomfortable stadia was solved in the 1960 and 1970s by moving stadia away from city centres to the periphery. Because city centres lacked space for stadia, clubs wanted to leave their existing downtown location and relocate to new out-of-town sites in which the new stadia were equipped with better facilities to improve the spectators’ comfort (KPMG, 2012). Church and Penny (2013) claim this second phase of stadia was much more about the inside of stadia; the relocation provided the clubs the opportunity to design the stadium for increasing revenues. Most prominent European examples of this generation are according to Spampinato (2009) Rome Olympic Stadium (1953), Napoli San Paolo (1959) and Munich Olympiastadion (1972). The second generation of stadia started the second location of sports stadia: out-of-town sites which are through history especially present in Germany (see Textbox 2). The second generation of stadia ended with the building of large stadia in Italy for the World Cup 1990, which were completed just at the time when a new phase of European sports stadia emerged (Spampinato, 2009). This is partly the reason the present-day stadia in Italy are outdated, paragraph 3.1.3 elaborates more on this. Although the inside of stadia were upgraded, stadia were relocated out of the city centre and still did not have any function for the local community.
3rd generation. Out-of-town: commercial stadia
A next generation of modern stadia started to emerge in the 1990s in which stadia were replaced with reasons of economic obsolescence instead of physical aging (Veenbrink, 2006; Ampt, 2011; Putting, 2013). This new generation of stadia incorporated commercial activities because economic priorities became much more important for clubs; clubs increasingly needed stadia that generated more revenue for them. This resulted in a continuation of the trend of out-of-town stadia. A striking example of this generation is the Bolton Reebok Stadium (1997); this stadium was built far off Bolton and Spampinato (2009) notes the upcoming commercialisation is reflected in the stadium’s name. Gaffney (2008) and Church and Penny (2013) state naming rights of stadia were used to maximise the economic utility of stadia. So even in the late 1990s, people were still not aware of the value of stadia for the local community because stadia were primarily built in the periphery to generate income for the clubs. This commercial way of thinking continued in the next generation of stadia.
4th generation. Out-of-town: flexible multi-use stadia
This fourth generation is an extended form of the previous phase and started according to Veenbrink (2006) in the Netherlands because the Netherlands wanted to organize the European Championship 2000 and the stadia at that time were not good enough to host a major event. Stadia of this new generation transformed according to Inglis (2003) Sheard (2005) and Spampinato (2009) into large innovative multifunctional entertainment centres. Mommaas (1993) argues the growth of the leisure industry resulted in an increase in major event halls and Giulianotti (1999) called this process of the emergence of large entertainment halls “mallification”. Stadia as entertainment halls started to accommodate users 365 days a year because stadia just for sports events were not feasible to finance the expensive stadia (Spampinato, 2009; Ampt, 2011). In addition, Gaffney (2008) and Church and Penny (2013) note that non-sports events emerged in stadia because this new generation of stadia were designed to make profit by incorporating all kinds of commercial facilities into stadia. The
Netherlands was in these days an example to the rest of the world; the first two stadia of this generation of multipurpose stadia were Amsterdam ArenA (1996) (see Textbox 2) and Arnhem Gelredome (1998). The downtown stadia of the first generation were primarily built to accommodate as much spectators as possible, in contrast the out-of-town entertainment halls of this fourth generation were built to host as much events as possible to earn money (Spampinato, 2009). The trend of constructing large out-of-town stadia continued and the trend spread across Europe; the Gelsenkirchen Veltins Arena (2001) is for example also a good example of this generation of stadia. Though, there was still no clear emphasis on the role of stadia for the local community. The second till the fourth generation of stadia have made the second location of the typology of stadia locations explicit: out-of-town stadia. Textbox 1 explained downtown city centre are not good in terms of acting as a catalyst for urban regeneration of the local community. But what about the value of the out-of-town stadia for the local community? Textbox 2 elaborates more on this issue, with examples of stadia from the Netherlands and Germany to support and underpin the theory.
Textbox 2. Location 2: Out-of-town stadia. The case of the Amsterdam ArenA and German stadia.
The second location of stadia is on the outskirts of the city. Once downtown city centres were built up, with little space for large sports stadia, this resulted in a trend of establishing stadia further away of city centre. The stadia are built in a no man’s land on a location on the outskirts of the city. Since urban regeneration focusses on existing urban areas instead of the development of new ones, Thornley (2002) and Smink (2010) argue out-of-town stadia can only be partly a
catalyst for urban regeneration because there is no local community. How does this theory works out in practice? The Amsterdam ArenA is a good Dutch example of this kind of out-of-town stadia. Furthermore, B. Veenbrink stresses that this kind of stadia are primarily
present in Germany: the Allianz Arena (Munich) and Commerzbank Arena (Frankfurt) are good recent examples of stadia on the outskirts of the city. Those stadia will be briefly examined to reveal whether the theory can be confirmed. Are out-of-town stadia not fully capable to act as a catalyst for urban regeneration and have value for the local community?
The Amsterdam ArenA (1996) was the first multifunctional stadium with a mobile roof in Europe. The ArenA hosts annually approximately 70 events - from soccer events to pop concerts and dance parties (Mans and Rodenburg, 2000). The Amsterdam ArenA has been an example to many other multifunctional stadia that have since been built according to the same design and organisation (Amsterdam ArenA, 2014). The stadium on the outskirts of Amsterdam triggered the development of a major leisure economy (Veenbrink, 2006). However, this occurred according to B. Veenbrink several years after construction of the stadium, urban regeneration of the surrounding area was not part of the original plans. Although the construction of the stadium boosted a major economy outside the stadium, it did not connect well with local communities. The benefits for
“In Duitsland zie je elk project waarbij ze een nieuw stadion gaan bouwen gaan ze midden in de bossen zitten.. daar denken ze dat ze alle ruimte hebben en zijn ze
the surrounding areas are therefore questioned. People in surrounding areas argue the benefits are mainly for the affluent and therefore feel excluded. In addition, Kok (2013) claims “de verzameling kantoren,
bedrijven, horecagelegenheden en muziekpodia vormen meer dan
vijftien jaar na opening van de Arena nog steeds een anonieme en zielloze enclave in de stad, zonder relatie met de directe omgeving”. The Amsterdam
Arena is nowadays part of a large area with a regional function. In this way it is not an isolated stadium but several years after the opening of the stadium it has created its own environment with many regional and national facilities. Nevertheless, G. Oosterhof claims the surrounding areas were not part of the original stadium plans. B. Veenbrink and G Oosterhof confirm the conclusions of Thornley (2002) and Smink (2010) about out-of-town stadia and especially the Amsterdam ArenA. The out-of-town Amsterdam ArenA has been partly a catalyst for urban regeneration. Urban regeneration was not well recognized during
construction of the stadium, but through the years the stadium has been the engine of regeneration. In addition, urban regeneration focusses on existing urban areas instead of the development of new ones and therefore the Amsterdam Arena, which was built in a major open space, is perceived as not a very good example of catalyst of urban regeneration.
As previously mentioned, German stadia are in Europe most prominent in out-of-town locations (see also paragraph 3.1.3). Literature based on small-scale case studies of German stadia like Ahlfeldt and Maennig (2010) state that the stadia built for the World Cup 2006 are highly innovated stadia, but the design is primarily functional. They claim that the German out-of-town stadia have no interaction with their surroundings, which resulted in little (economic) spill-overs. Many German stadia are not designed to contribute to the city’s interests including the regeneration of neighbourhoods: “In
Germany’s preparations for the Cup, it was widely forgotten that striking stadium architecture can not only fulfil the management criteria of professional organizations, but can also contribute to city development“
(Ahlfeldt and Maennig, 2010, p.631). B. Veenbrink confirms the consulted literature; he argues that the out-of-town stadia, which are primarily present in Germany, do not contribute to the regeneration of a local community. He illustrates this using the example of the Allianz Arena. The Allianz Arena was built in Munich in 2005 for the
“In de loop der jaren is het zo geworden, in plaats van dat het van tevoren bedacht was..[..]..ook de ArenA moest ergens komen waar er niemand
last van had” (see Appendix 6)
“Katalysator voor stedelijke vernieuwing? Dat is zeker in Venserpolder niet het geval. Het stadion stond er al toen men tot de conclusie kwam dat er ook iets voor de bewoners van Venserpolder moest
gebeuren” (see Appendix 5)
“Het Allianzstadion is een introvert stadion.. een donutstadion.. Een stadion moet juist extrovert worden ontworpen, om zo verblijfskwaliteit te realiseren en een relatie met de omgeving te houden
clubs Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich. B. Veenbrink stresses that the stadium is very much inwards-oriented because it is designed to maximise profit inside the stadium. In this way he confirms the conclusions of Ahlfeldt and Maennig (2010), who claim that the construction of the stadium very much focussed on the clubs and not the contribution to the local community. Most obvious clue for this is the location of the stadium; the Allianz Arena is situated on the outskirts of Munich, surrounded only by highways (see Figure 3). This location is according to Ahlfeldt and Maennig (2010) a weakness, because the stadium is isolated from the surroundings and local communities and therefore do not contribute to urban regeneration. This is in line with the conclusions of Smink
(2010) and Thornley (2002) about out-of-town stadia. The Commerzbank Arena (Frankfurt) is according to B. Veenbrink another example of a recently built stadium in an urban no man’s land. Figure 3
illustrates exactly his observation, the stadium has been built in the middle of a forest not contributing to regeneration. So the theory can be confirmed; although out-of-town stadia can be very positive for the respective clubs, this location is not the best option in terms of urban regeneration. Similar to the city centre stadia, out-of-town stadia are designed to be functional. Stadia are primarily built to attract (inter)national events for a high profile city, or for increasing income for clubs because on the outskirts of the city is much space for large stadia. Again, those stadia do not have to be bad designed stadia, but in terms of having value for a local community and regeneration stadia on the outskirts of the city are not the best option.
Figure 3: German out-of-town stadia: Allianz Arena (Munich) and Commerzbank Arena (Frankfurt).
“In Frankfurt dachten ze we hakken een paar bomen om en er
