State-of-the-art multi-functional stadiums are designed to impress more than the average football fan.
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00:00 As multifunctional venues, football grounds are making clubs more money than ever before.
00:05 But with that, they are also more expensive to build.
00:08 So, how has the infrastructure of football stadiums developed in the modern day?
00:13 Hello and welcome to Football Now.
00:20 In the past, older football stadiums may have prioritised practicality over aesthetics,
00:26 but in the modern day, they are designed with much more than that in mind.
00:30 These new and improved stadiums not only serve as a home for a local football team,
00:35 but are now urban dynamic landmarks.
00:38 So, let's take a look at how football facilities are stepping into the 21st century.
00:43 In recent years, unique and iconic designs have redefined modern sports architecture.
00:49 The new jewel in the crown for British football is the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.
00:54 It was rebuilt on the same site as their old White Hart Lane ground in 2019.
00:59 Crucially, the stadium hosts a lot more than just football.
01:03 Boxing events, concerts and stadium tours are all held here.
01:06 Guests can enjoy other attractions such as a skywalk along the stadium's exposed rooftop walkway.
01:13 The revolutionary retractable pitch means that the stadium hosts two NFL games per season until 2030.
01:19 This was a world first, and throughout the years other venues have emulated the innovation, making it a global milestone.
01:26 The broader objective of the stadium was much, much beyond the stadium itself.
01:32 So, you know, Daniel had a vision of being able to transform Tottenham,
01:36 and Tottenham has a place in London for those who aren't familiar, a very deprived area.
01:42 And Daniel really believed that the stadium was a catalyst for some greater change.
01:47 But the multi-using I think is really more about one on a level being sort of sustainable,
01:52 if you're going to invest all of this effort, infrastructure, from a commercial perspective, money,
01:57 into, you know, a million square foot building.
02:01 We should make it work really hard. We should make it work seven days a week.
02:05 I think there's been a big move in engineering technology, the ability to move whole pitches,
02:12 to reconfigure a perfect EPL stadium, but then transform into the perfect NFL stadium.
02:19 Yeah, it was a huge challenge, but ultimately pretty successful.
02:22 While Tottenham chose to bulldoze and rebuild the stadium from scratch,
02:26 Spanish and European giants Real Madrid have redeveloped their iconic Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
02:32 Costing upwards of 1 billion euros and taking just under five years to complete,
02:38 it now stands as a leading example of the modernity and efficiency that fans look for in a stadium today,
02:44 while also keeping true to the history which has made it such an iconic football ground for generations.
02:50 The actual plot for the Bernabeu is historically important for the club,
02:54 not just the stadium, the stands, the pitch, but, you know, the plot land where it is,
02:59 back when it was secured by Santiago Bernabeu himself in 1943.
03:04 Obviously from the outside it's changed completely. It's really quite a marvel to look at.
03:09 But it's still the Santiago Bernabeu. Inside it's very similar to how it was before.
03:15 I don't think Real Madrid could ever play anywhere else.
03:18 To Real Madrid's credit, their fans, their socios, because they're members, because it's a member-owned club,
03:24 are hugely important in the decision-making process and they're hugely important to all of the club's decisions.
03:31 Sustainability is another defining aspect of modern stadium design.
03:36 Now more than ever there is a focus on energy efficiency, renewable resources and environmental responsibility.
03:43 I mean if we look at it kind of holistically, as in what can clubs do to reduce their emissions and improve sustainability locally,
03:50 I mean obviously energy is a huge one, so we're seeing a lot of on-site energy generation, so solar panels.
03:56 What I'd like to think is that those kind of projects are done that also support people with cost-of-living crisis
04:01 and reduce those energy costs locally for people. Having that kind of localised renewable energy source.
04:07 We also see a lot of energy savings, just really common sense items,
04:12 but maybe that haven't been implemented into policy.
04:14 Things like turning off lights, not turning them on if nobody's accessing that particular area, switching to LEDs obviously.
04:20 We're also seeing a lot of consideration around pitches, so whether they're organic pitches.
04:25 Norwich City for example, recycle all their rainwater and irrigate the pitch that way.
04:30 We have also seen Burnley for example introducing lights that automatically turn off, same with Bristol City.
04:36 While the architectural feat of these stadiums is impressive, with greater facilities also comes a greater cost.
04:43 Maximising commercial revenue now hinges on the ability to serve as a multi-purpose venue.
04:49 However, the investment required for the construction and upkeep to make that possible is now higher than ever.
04:56 It's both of them. And clearly there's a huge increase in general cost of living post-COVID and pandemic.
05:04 And currently there has been a general rise in commodity prices.
05:08 But really I think the buildings are significantly different.
05:12 Almost 20 years apart between the Emirates and Tottenham, the aspirations as far as the multi-use, the multi-purpose.
05:19 But equally from a sort of revenue perspective, the revenue generated from a building like Tottenham,
05:25 the payback times probably pretty similar as they were 20 years ago.
05:30 Even though Spurs is roughly four times more expensive than Emirates was.
05:35 The evolution of modern multi-purpose football stadiums now represents a fusion of innovation, functionality and sustainability.
05:44 That's all we have time for this week from our studio here in Doha.
05:48 Do let us know your thoughts using the hashtag #FootballNowStadiums and we'll see you next time. Bye for now.
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