DAYTONA RISING in Florida by ROSSETTI

Article source: ROSSETTI

With the opening of the new Daytona International Speedway (DIS) at the Daytona 500, the first motorsports stadium will be a game changer for the sport of NASCAR. The design-build partnership of ROSSETTI and Barton Malow Corporation — two Detroit-based companies — generated many innovations over the four years of work on the project. ROSSETTI’s innovations feature stadium design that is completely new to the sport of racing. The firm also used new technology to enhance the design and coordination of the project.

Image Courtesy © ROSSETTI

• Architects: ROSSETTI
• Project: DAYTONA RISING
• Location: Florida, USA

Image Courtesy © ROSSETTI

Design Challenges

In reimagining this American icon, ROSSETTI was challenged to not only provide modern amenities for fans and partners, but to create an experience that matched the iconic status of the facility. The size of the stadium is enormous, spanning 2/3 of a mile long, and 150 foot height (13 story office building). The new stadium had a $400 million budget, whereas most stadiums that seat 100,000 people cost $1 billion to design and build.

According to Jim Renne, ROSSETTI Sports Principal, one of the most critical challenges was that the former grandstand had “no arrival experience.” The former grandstand was a monotonous linear structure. There was little vertical circulation and limited amenities. Back-of-house activities, usually hidden at other stadiums, took place in pedestrian circulation areas.

Innovative Design Solutions

The heart of the solution lies in ROSSETTI’s design concept that created unique experiences spanning the entire stadium’s 2/3 of a mile length.  According to Derek Muldowney, Executive Vice President for International Speedway Corporation (ISC) Design & Development, “the genius of the project is the injector. It makes the project work.”

The Injector Concept: Injectors are like five individual stadiums of 20,000-seats each with their own entrance experience sponsored by Founding Partners to provide a fan engagement and brand messaging experience that is completely unique to sports venues.

Neighborhoods: Integrated into each sponsored injector are themed neighborhoods, each the size of a football field, providing concessions, social opportunities, activities and plenty of basic necessities, such as toilet rooms. Fans walking the length of the stadium will never see the same thing twice.

Consolidated Branding for Partners:  While most other stadiums feature their naming partners across rooflines and randomly throughout the venues, the injectors consolidate sponsor brand messaging into impactful one-on-one sponsor engagement opportunities with fans. Fans will literally be immersed in the message from approach to seat, using branding, displays, themed concessions and specially designed activities. Fans will identify their seating location with their sponsored injector as a wayfinding element. The connectivity of event and brand will create a bond to both the event and the sponsor for tens of thousands of fans. This is the magic sauce that all brands are seeking through sports sponsorship.

• Trioval Club: The Trioval Club (capacity approximately 10,000) serves as a dedicated concourse with premium food and beverage options and also provides open views of the track.
• Hospitality: There are seven different premium products within the stadium to accommodate the demand for diverse premium hospitality. Previously, the premium amenities were located outside of the track and divorced from the experience. This is the first time that most hospitality will be located inside the stadium in a permanent facility, and is unique for NASCAR.
• Vertical Circulation: For the first time, DIS has the ability to move people vertically throughout the stadium while providing unique experiences. This is critical because, unlike all other types of sports stadiums, the best seats are the highest.

Gateway to Daytona Beach: DIS is the gateway to Daytona Beach and unlike many sports stadiums, is integrated into the identity of the city for most Americans. The injectors provide a sense of place for the stadium and the city; an arrival experience that matches the legacy of the venue and the excitement of the “World Center of Racing.”

ROSSETTI Creates a New Standard for NASCAR Sightlines

The soul of a stadium is the bowl. Architects strive to develop sightlines based on a common focal point for the fans. While sightlines today are taken for granted, this is a challenge in racing. In addition, DIS is unique. The focal point varies widely along the length of the stadium due to the slope of the track, the distance to the entire ‘field of play,’ the 180 degree field of view to see the entire 2.5 mile track, and the speed of the cars going up to 200 mph past the fans, (which amounts to .1% of the total action on the track). In addition, at 2/3 of a mile long, the stadium actually follows the curvature of the earth.

With no precedent to follow, ROSSETTI designed a new criteria for NASCAR sightlines. As ROSSETTI analyzed the sightlines, designers manipulated the data through proprietary software, called Sightline Designer, which enabled designers to:

• Create 30 individual sight line views of the race track vs. an average of six sight line views for other sports venues.
• Set a focal point from 20 feet out from the track wall and four feet up from the track, which is assumed to be the roof of a stock car in the middle of the track.
• Research and explore various seating schemes, which resulted in the Maximum Compressed Design Scheme. This scheme addressed the best vantage point for the most fans by compressing the seating design toward the start/finish line vs adding more seats on the ends of the stadium. This raised the stadium 18 rows higher than the previous grandstand.

The resulting sightlines led DIS President, Joie Chitwood III, to remark that the stadium had achieved “sightline perfection.”

Technology Integrates Sports Design Collaboration

The magnitude and complexity of this project prompted the design-build team of ROSSETTI and construction manager, Baron Malow Corp, both of Detroit, to utilize the latest Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) technology. While VDC is being used on a variety of building types today, the DAYTONA Rising project marks a high point of consultant collaboration and integration of information in a major sports development.

About ROSSETTI

ROSSETTI is the design architect for DAYTONA Rising. ROSSETTI is an award-winning architectural design and planning firm with 46 years of expertise in sports and entertainment.  The firm began its legacy of sports design with the Palace of Auburn Hills.  By moving the skyboxes to the lower and mid bowls, the design innovation revolutionized the economics of arena design in the 1980s. ROSSETTI works with professional and collegiate sports teams across every sport including:  Green Bay Packers, LA Lakers (Headquarters and Training Facility), Seattle Seahawks, MSU Spartans, Boston Bruins, Detroit Pistons, Red Wings and Lions, Ottawa Senators. ROSSETTI is the only firm that was able to design a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis facility in the world. It is currently under construction and will be complete for the US Open in August, 2016.

Located in the Federal Reserve Building in downtown Detroit, ROSSETTI’s Detroit projects include Ford Field, Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program, One Campus Martius (former Compuware Building), Federal Reserve Building, Rock Companies Executive Suites, Quicken Loans Chase Tower, Corner Tap at Comerica Park, Vertical Wine Bar and The Albert.

Tags: Florida, USA

Category: Stadium

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 27th, 2016 at 5:11 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.