Brian Mirakian is a smart man. He is the director of Populous Activate in the Americas, and he presented a wonderful, thoughtful session at this year’s South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. His session, “The New Cathedral: Sports Stadiums,” took a look at the past, present, and future of stadium design.
“We’re moving rapidly from a spectator culture to participant culture, and the next generation fan wants access and interaction with the athletes on the field,” Mirakian wrote in session recap on Populous.com.
In the recap, Mirakian offers 10 ways to look at what has become a cathedral to many: the sports stadium. Let’s look at the first five, along with some quotes from Mirakian.
1. The new cathedral is… the same as the old cathedral.
“In the same way that the Roman Coliseum was a symbol for the community and captured a distinct sense of place that brought people together, the future stadium will communicate the spirit of its city and its culture.”
2. The new cathedral is… designed for the experientialist.
“The next gen experientialist fan wants to participate, explore, interact with brands, socially congregate in areas connected to the action and make memories with friends beyond the seating bowl.”
3. The new cathedral is… embedded and reactive.
“Our buildings can actually become responsive to fans—whether through reactive surfaces or embedded architecture (like we saw in the London 2012 Main Stadium) or the future use of augmented reality technology.”
4. The new cathedral is… a place that interconnects fans and athletes.
“By using next generation data analytics, it’s not hard to imagine that fans will be able to capture, follow, and experience what their favorite athlete experiences in a game.”
5. The new cathedral is… home to a global audience.
“93 percent of NFL fans will never step foot in an NFL stadium … which means franchises now have to understand their fan base and brand exists everywhere and must challenge themselves to engage a global audience of fans who aren’t in the building.”
Mirakian affirmed that technology will not kill stadiums, because of our human nature.
“People will aways want to share a social experience together,” he said. “It’s what makes us human.”
Please visit Populous.com to learn about the other five ways sports stadiums are evolving.
(Image: Populous)
