ILT STADIUM

Objectives of the project

In September, 2010 the roof of Invercargill’s Stadium collapsed after an unprecedented snow fall. This was a disaster for the local community but with a great sense of price, the community rallied together to rebuild the facility and also increase the overall seating capacity. The rebuild also included an upgrade of the viewing experience from the courtyard stands.

Target Markets

A central focus in all the re-build was the customer experience within the Stadium during events. Visitors are a broad range of local and overseas sporting and cultural enthusiasts who were demanding in their expectation of a fun, lively place to be but also it needed to be a practical and safe environment.

The Special Challenges We Faced

• The timeframe was critical to work around planned events and minimise Stadium downtime for the Opening and the Netball season.
• Designing complicated balustrade systems that could resist crowd loadings up to 4.5kN/m along the top edge (equivalent to 460kgs pm)
• Creating, designing and manufacturing a variety of fixing solutions to handle the different substrates encountered on site
• Separately designing posts for the broadcast camera platform so the top 200mm could be removed for TV cameras.
• Some floor areas were not level thus presenting a number of engineering difficulties to overcome before heavy glass structures could be installed safely.

Product We Used

Viridian Glass heavyweight semi-frameless balustrading as well as new balustrading in the Foyer to prevent access to the climbing wall. The glass attached to the lift uses Euroglass Euro Anchors. Viridian Glass frameless balustrading is also used for the mezzanine floor.

Results

Many aspects of this project were unique.

• Firstly, Glass in the central “hero” to enhance the possible customer experience for watching their sport.
• The finished result is a unique mixture of new and existing structures that are all enhanced by innovative design and the practical and safe use of Glass in a crowd environment.
• Specifically, the method of fixing the aluminum louvres to the Viridian designed spider fittings is unique.

Summary

A highly visible and much-used local Stadium is rebuilt and retains its “icon” status within the immediate user Community and beyond. The extensive use of Glass is both visually appealing and non-obstructive so visitors can enjoy the entire facility from any seat.

This was a complicated project for a facility used extensively by the public. It combines the innovative use of Glass with careful consideration given to several unique “technical” issues to ensure maximum public safety as well as an appealing modern design.