Game days are high-pressure days.
All over the planet, game day for millions means seeing their favorite team with the minimum fuss. All eyes may be on the field during the game, but the stadium’s unspoken stars are the people and technology that enable tens of thousands of fans to flow smoothly to their seats at the start of the match, and make a swift, safe exit after the final whistle.
The job of KONE Service Superintendent Jerry Nardello is to keep the escalators and elevators running perfectly at an 18,500-seat arena in the US, home to an NHL ice hockey team.
“Game days are high-pressure days,” Nardello says.
“We get to the arena an hour or two before each match, and our first job is to ride every unit to make sure it’s up to par,” he adds. “If we need, we will make any repairs or adjustments right then and there.”
Nardello and his colleagues can always be seen walking the concourse as guests are arriving, allowing them to fix any shutdowns as quickly as possible.
Over the past 50 years, KONE has installed escalators and elevators into stadiums and arenas all over the world – from New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden to football venues all across Europe. The Groupama Arena in Budapest, for example, relies on KONE technology to move 23,700 fans to their seats every week.
It’s the US however, which is KONE's biggest stadium market – covering every conceivable big-ticket sport from American football and baseball to NASCAR and ice hockey. KONE has provided vertical transportation equipment across 66 stadium construction projects which include some of the most historic, high-profile venues in the country.
Creating ideal stadium flow behind the scenes
For the owners of these venues, finding the right vertical transportation setup that will minimize bottlenecks and crowding is paramount. And key to this is a deep understanding of the habits of their team's fans.
“On game day, people do different things,” explains Dan Brooks, KONE's New Building Solutions Director in the US. “Some come in early to try and get autographs, while thousands of people come for tailgate parties - drinks and barbecues around fans' trucks in the parking lot.”
“The latter are more likely to enter the stadium with minutes to spare, and we have to be able to show ownership how to get all these different types of people to their seats quickly.”
As a result, pre-installation discussions with sports team executives and architects often include a detailed traffic analysis planning of the proposed vertical transportation system. This helps to show how the elevators and escalators can be relied on to handle everything.
For example, at Boston's TD Garden careful people flow planning enables premium ticket holders to get from the parking garage right to their seats using only their smartphone to call the elevators.
Sprinting to success with rapid elevator installations
When it comes to installing elevators and escalators in a new stadium project, schedules are usually tight. That's because the opening of these facilities is often planned for the start of a new season, and delays could cause serious problems.
“When you're dealing with professional sports leagues such as the NFL and Major League Baseball,” says Brooks, “you're usually working on a stadium that is being built right on a tight schedule leading up to a new opening season. Millions of dollars are at stake because everything has to be ready on time and scheduling becomes of great importance.”
In fact, windows of less than 72 hours to deliver escalators and elevators are not uncommon. "You've got to have a very detailed logistics, hoisting, delivery and execution plan, so you are ready to go," says Brooks.
As a result, stadium installations necessitate an all-hands-on-deck approach.
Local KONE teams are supported throughout by KONE’s Major Projects Unit, which brings together the experience of stadium veterans like Brooks.
“America is a big place,” he says, “and local teams aren't going to install a new stadium every year. Our Major Projects Unit helps with logistics, delivery and installation plans. And we're always learning new things. We might have just come off an installation in Las Vegas and can take what we learned and turn them into best practices for the next project.”
The enduring appeal of hard-wearing escalators
While most arenas and stadiums have elevators, many stadium operators prefer to use multiple escalators to move people around. In a sports environment with lots of traffic, only a very special kind of escalator is right for the job.
“When it comes to escalators,” explains Brooks, “there's the kind you get in a department store, and then there's the APTA heavy-duty type you'd see half covered in snow transporting people down to the New York subway. For stadium use, KONE has something in between.”
Stadium escalators have to be reliable and able to handle two people per stair.
KONE refers to these as Public Transportation escalators and are most common in stadiums, arenas, airports and convention centers. These hard-wearing escalators are typically 40 inches (102cm) wide and can move up to 8,000 people per hour.
“Stadium escalators have to be reliable and able to handle two people per stair,” says Brooks. “It's all about increased step load, larger radius trusses, three flat level step designs and other heavy-duty components to increase longevity and reliability because those escalators are packed before and after the game.”
Among the KONE solutions popular with stadium clients are TravelMaster (TM220) as well as MonoSpace and MiniSpace elevators.
Breathing new life into historic stadiums
New builds, of course, only paint half the picture. Stadium renovations are a great way to improve people flow and the overall customer experience.
And in some cases, it's not just the fans who benefit.
“KONE has added and upgraded equipment at some of the oldest stadiums around the country, including a few with historical landmark status in their respective cities,” says Brooks.
KONE has also provided vertical transportation for new, subterranean rehabilitation facilities – including enhanced amenities for their players to ensure that they receive the treatment they require by not leaving the stadium or arena.
“Improving your existing facilities like this can be a great way to attract any free agents (out-of-contract players looking for their next lucrative season) that you want to come and play for your team,” explains Brooks.
With a new stadium costing hundreds of millions or more to build, renovations can often be a cost-effective way to help historic stadiums up their game and keep running smoothly for many more years.
Whether that's improving how fans get to their seats, players get to training facilities, or VIPs arrive at their private boxes, the right combination of reliable escalators and elevators ensures that game day is as frictionless as it can be for everyone.
And it looks like demand for an unbeatable, stress-free stadium experience is only going to intensify. With the global live events market projected to grow to $1.2 trillion by 2032, the need to ensure that everyone has the best possible time when they step into an arena has never been greater.
