Ruth Shilston, major events and venues lead Europe with Mott MacDonald, explains how an unwavering focus on climate resilience must unite the diverse and rapidly changing projects across the market…
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Lord Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics, concluded in a report by The British Association for Sustainable Sport that, “climate change should increasingly be viewed as an existential threat to sport”. Indeed, over 70% of Women’s Super League players say playing conditions are already affected by climate change.
And amid the multifaceted impact on the industry, sporting infrastructure urgently needs to overcome these challenges – for the sake of athletes, spectators, and wider venue and competition stakeholders alike.
New weather extremes are increasingly jeopardising infrastructure safety, operations, and attractiveness. For instance, at the Tokyo Olympics – reportedly the hottest on record – one tennis player had to leave the court in a wheelchair due to heat exhaustion. Spectators are also at risk. Suffering Wimbledon tennis fans this year contributed to near-record-high A&E admissions at the local Emergency Department.
Weather-induced challenges are also affecting the wider delivery of competitions. From events moving to unsociable viewing times to dodge the worst temperatures, to heat and humidity making it harder for athletes to produce crowd-pleasing record results. We may also be faced with fewer and fewer regions able to host sport as we know it: by the end of the century, only 8 of the 21 cities which have hosted the Winter Olympics are projected to be cold enough to do so reliably again.
The global sports industry is responsible for approximately 350 million tonnes of carbon equivalent emissions, so it is clear stadia old and new need to become more sustainable and climate resilient – both to protect immediate users in the short term, and to do whatever is possible to minimise further disruptive climate change in the longer term.
The bigger picture
First, let’s look at how stadia can embed climate-conscious approaches. There are several ways to pursue net zero and achieve broader societal benefits.
One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch is a fantastic example. It officially opened its doors earlier this year and is a stadium which represents state-of-the-art standards across the board, not least in climate resilience. The design process incorporated sustainable directives throughout, using low-carbon materials, minimising construction and operational waste, and championing water efficiency by reducing potable water use. The total savings are equivalent to 7,233 truckloads of concrete effectively removed from the project’s carbon footprint.
The Paris Olympics infrastructure also demonstrated broader sustainable innovations, including zero-carbon hockey turf made from 80% bio-based fibre raw material and an athletics track made from renewable and recycled materials.
When it comes to water management, a particularly unusual and resourceful example is the partnership between Forest Green Rovers FC and Nijhuis Saur, in which fan urine is converted into clean water and fertiliser for the pitch. For context, a standard professional football pitch uses the equivalent of 625 baths of water daily.
Making a stadium as eco-friendly as possible is a powerful step toward mitigating the damage that unchecked climate change could otherwise cause.
Shielding athletes
Most sport governing bodies have clear heat stress policies which are in place to protect athletes. These policies require heat mitigation strategies to be implemented based on weather forecasts and on-site measurements of temperature and humidity. Mitigation strategies often provide cooled spaces for athletes to recover in and shaded areas for athletes to wait, alongside supplying ice, cold drinks, and fans. In extreme cases events will be cancelled which is disappointing for athletes and spectators alike. In the UK these are relatively new considerations in the design of sports venues as prolonged heatwaves become more common.
Much of the conversation has focussed on extreme heat, but the flooding created by wetter winters can flood pitches and in severe cases create significant damage to playing surfaces. Flooding risk is a key consideration when choosing a new site for a venue and careful design of site drainage is key to maintaining playing conditions throughout the winter months.
Climate disruption also needs to be minimised for athletes off the pitch, such as in athlete villages. World records are achieved on the smallest margins and the ability to get a good night’s sleep is a key factor. In hotter climates, façade upgrades, careful occupation schedules, and nighttime ventilation can help keep athletes cool and reduce dependency on air conditioning.
…and spectators
Sport without fans is not really sport at all, both from a community and atmosphere perspective, and a financial one. As climate conditions continue to change, venues have to make sure that the safety on the pitch is matched in the stands.
From turnstile queuing locations to access to water refill points, venues must consider heat resilience, cooling, shade, ventilation, and hydration for spectators both inside the stadium and on their journeys to the venue.
The SoFi stadium in Los Angeles offers a good illustration, with its impressive roof canopy shading a 2.5-acre spectator plaza. Whilst such dedicated infrastructure is the ideal, some grounds have also shown themselves to be versatile in implementing temporary responses to sudden heatwaves. Sprinklers were set up for children to cool down in at this summer’s Women’s T20 World Cup match in Bristol, for example (naturally, more water-sustainable options would be needed longer-term).
How to go even further
Last summer’s extremes made it clearer than ever that changing weather patterns will transform sporting events across competitions and the globe.
To adapt, it is essential that climate resilience strategies are integrated into venue (re-)development plans as early as possible – they can no longer be tacked on partway through, or once a venue has opened as an afterthought.
Whilst this article has focussed on the elite level of competition, the same care must be taken with grassroots facilities to ensure the next generation of stars can safely emerge, and that more widely children can confidently and comfortably discover the joys and benefits of sport.
