As sports clubs and operators strive for new ways to generate revenues beyond matchdays, venue-anchored mixed- use developments are becoming increasingly prevalent.
As the lead designer on projects such as Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong, Manchester City’s North Stand entertainment and leisure district, and Benfica’s planned expansion and masterplan for the Estádio da Luz, Populous is well placed to offer insights into these projects.
We caught up with Tom Jones, senior principal, and Colin Green, head of strategy, EMEA, to explore the five key reasons why these major developments are essential for the future viability of sport.
1. YEAR-ROUND ACTIVATION
Since opening in 2019, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been lauded as the archetypal mixed-use venue.
As well as Premier League matches, the stadium hosts NFL, rugby union, rugby league, hockey, boxing and concerts. Add in a Formula 1-branded karting track, a rooftop skywalk experience and a planned hotel development and the stadium rarely has a day off.
“Rather than the fans only interacting with a club on a match day, we’re looking at different opportunities for them to come and engage with the club seven days a week,” says Jones. “Whether that’s sports bars that are open during the week, fan zones or commercial retail spaces.
“Of course, underpinning all of this is the need to increase revenue generation. All venues and clubs are needing to look at ways of improving their financial vi-ability. So having this broader range of development that broadens the use over the year, has more events and encourages people to visit more regularly is all part of improving their business case.”
Green adds: “I think stadiums have to work harder, fundamentally. Back in the day, it was 20 or 30 events a year, and that’s not financially sustainable now. Particularly in the Premier League with financial fair play, these assets have to be worked much harder.
“‘Entertainment ecosystems’ is a term that we use now. So, not single use. They’re hosting football, NFL and concerts, which are massive revenue generators for stadiums now. We’re seeing the lines between sport, music and entertainment blurring and we’re seeing that trend across all assets globally.”
2. BUILDING HUMAN EXPERIENCES
At the start of any project, Green’s team conducts market research in the local area to determine what fans and residents desire from a new stadium and the surrounding development.
This research helps Populous understand the gaps in the market and informs the design process for architects. “That’s where we’re different to a standard architecture practice,” says Green. “We’re building human experiences and in order to do that you’ve got to create experiences that people connect with. My team’s job is a bit like that connective tissue in the business.
“It’s about forecasting what trends are coming, how we build those in and how we make it representative of the community so that it works for them. That’s very much a focal point for my team.”
Benfica’s Estádio da Luz project, which Populous was appointed to deliver back in July, is a prime example. As well as an expansion of the stadium itself, the project includes a 10,000-capacity indoor arena, two indoor sports halls, a community swimming pool, a theatre and events space, an outdoor rooftop football pitch and running track, and commercial and residential facilities.
“Certainly, when we were developing the Benfica design, we coined the phrase ‘Benfica District’ so it was almost like a branded piece of the city within which their passionate fans can come and engage with the club,” says Jones.
“The idea of a dual venue, so a stadium partnered with an arena, is definitely an interesting model that we’re starting to see, whether it’s in Manchester with
Etihad Stadium and Co-op Live, or with Benfica and the existing stadium and the new arena.
“There seems to be an interesting synergy between having an open-air stadium and an indoor arena and the opportunities that brings, both to operate events in both, but also to have them designed in a way that they can support the operation of each other.”
“It’s about making it representative of the community so that it works for them”
Colin Green, head of strategy EMEA at Populous
3. INCORPORATING LOCAL CULTURE
Populous views the integration of local culture as key in all of its projects, with clients increasingly keen for their venues to have a unique identity and not, as Jones puts it, “a spaceship that’s just landed in a town or city that doesn’t have any relevance to the people, the history and the community”.
Wrexham AFC is an example of this, with Populous working with the Championship club on its new Kop Stand and surrounding public plaza. The design incorporates a brick façade that pays homage to the city’s ‘Terracottapolis’ nickname, with the brick colour and textures invoking the historic Ruabon red brick from the local area.
“In-depth research produces a much broader tapestry of understanding of how a sports club, which in this case has been there well over 100 years, operates,” says Jones. “It has been an integral part of its community all the way through, and how they see themselves as sitting alongside, in Wrexham’s case, some of the coalmining stories, including some sad stories as well as positive stories.”
Green adds: “Something that feels authentic will make you want to go there. Something that feels cardboard-cutout and dropped there by an architecture company will never work. That’s something I think Populous are particularly good at. The more authentic you make it, the more likely it is that people are going to go there. It’s that simple.”
4. NEW BUILD VERSUS EXPANSIONS
As well as expansion projects such as Wrexham, Benfica and Manchester City, Populous is well-versed in delivering new-build developments, from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to the recently opened Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong.
Jones admits that it can sometimes be easier to design within constraints, rather than have an open blank canvas, as with a completely new build it can be difficult to create new public spaces where people want to gather.
“If you’re working in an existing context, with Benfica it’s already sitting there as part of the city,” says Jones. “It’s got a lot of history and identity from being in and around that area for many decades. What we then try and do is understand where the opportunities are. In Benfica’s case, it’s the car park that sits outside the stadium and is fairly underutilised.
“With Kai Tak, being on the old airport site, it was quite central, and it was great to be able to repurpose what was otherwise a derelict space with a great waterfront view back to the main city, with the addition of the extension of the MRT public transport system back into the city to create this new district in Hong Kong.”
Populous is also working on the vast Qiddiya project just outside Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, which will be anchored by the world’s first fully integrated venue with a combined retractable roof, pitch and LED wall.
“The Qiddiya stadium itself is in an incredible location up on the cliff, with new concepts of digital design in terms of how a venue can adapt through lots of different sports and entertainment formats and how that creates an identity for a new city,” says Jones.
“The core idea in any of these projects is about a daily destination”
Colin Green, head of strategy EMEA at Populous
5. SCALABILITY
In the past, mixed-use venue-anchored developments could be perceived as projects that are limited to elite clubs, but they are increasingly becoming the model for clubs at all levels, with Wrexham as a great example.
Jones notes that Wrexham’s Kop Stand project is the first step in a wider masterplan to “progressively redevelop” the club’s brand, with the stadium expansion tied in with the local authority’s plans to redevelop the city itself.
“The Wrexham Gateway scheme is a project that combines national government, local government and other stakeholders, including the club, in trying to reimagine and push forward a broader development that then connects into the city centre,” he explains.
“You then see improvements in public realm and landscaping projects that the council has been facilitating. You can see the way in which the university next to the football club has really grown so that its intake of students has grown and diversified.”
Green adds: “The core idea in any of these projects, regardless of scale, is about a daily destination. If you can get people to come to the asset, integrate with it and spend their money and time, and get connectivity with that audience, you’re going to win. Whether that’s a £5 spend or a £50 spend, that’s how you’re going to win.”
To find out more about the work Populous do, head to their website.
