There are a number of different seating configurations possible for stadium seating, and throughout the world, a wide variety of these possible configurations has been installed to accommodate specific seating requirements of the particular venue, as well as preferences of those regularly attending sporting events at those venues. The type of seating installed and the kind of sports chairs used to make attendees comfortable may be driven by several different factors.
In some cases, comfort rules the day, while at other times it is necessary to choose a sporting chair which can accommodate the most number of people in the space available. This discussion will consider the different types of sporting chairs available for installation and the different kinds of stadium seating which are possible. If you are a person in charge of arranging for stadium seating of some kind for your venue, or if your current seating needs replacement, this discussion may be of value to you.
Beam seating is one very popular kind of stadium seating, and it's also prevalent in such institutions as airports, hospitals, and train stations. It owes its popularity to the fact that this type of seating is durable, comfortable, and very easy to clean when necessary. Beam seating is also referred to as bench seating or bench beam seating, because it resembles a bench somewhat in appearance, although it is far more comfortable than an ordinary bench would be. The most striking characteristic of beam seating is that it consists of multiple seats which are attached by a beam below the chairs, and which has legs at both ends of the beam. This type of seating can be either free-standing or permanently attached to the floor.
Bleacher seating is commonly installed at sports venues and in educational institutions where individual chairs are not necessary. With bleacher seating, there are generally raised levels of benches to accommodate sports enthusiasts and there are stairways built in to provide access to the horizontal rows of seating in place. The most common design allows for access to the bench seating on every other step since it is necessary to provide leg room for those sitting on the benches. Most people have encountered bleacher seating at high school or college sporting events, where comfort is not the primary consideration, but accommodating a large number of people might take priority.
Fixed seating almost always includes chair backs on the seats, and these chairs are permanently attached to the floor, so they cannot be easily moved without significant effort. Fixed seating is often used in theaters, arenas, auditoriums, and other venues in addition to stadium seating, and when in place, it generally affords more comfort for the user. Some fixed seats can be quite elaborate in fact and may be downright luxurious in nature, although these kinds of chairs are not generally installed as stadium seats.
Even among sporting venues, there is a huge variety of the kind of stadiums which are in use around the world to accommodate sports fans. There are the huge soccer field stadiums such as Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, which seats a whopping 150,000 fans, or the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, Spain which seats 99,000 rabid soccer enthusiasts. As you might expect, the design emphasis for such over-sized stadiums as these focuses on handling very large numbers of fans, rather than providing anything like a luxury to all those in attendance.
Similar to the very large soccer stadiums of the world are the large stadiums used by National Football League teams and Major League Baseball teams in this country. In some cases, college footballs stadiums can be very large and there are several in this country with a seating capacity of over 100,000, such as Michigan Stadium.
Several of the world's largest sports venues have Series Seating installed because Series has come to be known as an industry leader in the field of stadium seating, with more than 35 years of experience in designing and installing durable and comfortable sports chairs. Two of the most popular stadium seating styles offered by Series Seating are the Nest and the Arrow models, both of which have been installed in numerous stadiums around the globe, a few examples of which include the Arena de Gremio in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and Movistar Arena in Bogota, Colombia.
Arena seating tends to be somewhat smaller than outdoor sports stadium venues because it is enclosed and has a seating capacity generally far less than the sprawling football and soccer stadiums mentioned above. Another good example of arena seating is the seating provided by venues which are used by teams in the National Hockey League, which generally have a seating capacity of 20,000 or less. These arenas are sprinkled throughout North America, and in other countries where hockey is popular. The type of seating used in these arenas tends to be more comfortable and stylish than what you might find in the larger outdoor stadiums of the world.
In recent years, there has been an emphasis in many football, baseball, and hockey stadiums and arenas on providing luxury seating for high-profile patrons such as business accounts. These luxury boxes which are included in many of the newer venues are expensive and very luxurious, and since they are such big money-makers for sports franchises, more and more of them are being designed into new stadiums and arenas which are built. The seating built into such luxury boxes at stadiums and arenas provide the occupants with an extremely comfortable sporting chair from which to view the event.
There are some factors among these outdoor stadiums and arenas which are the same, and some which are quite different, even though the aim of all seating design at such venues is basically the same - to comfortably accommodate fans in attendance. Generally speaking, arenas tend to have roofs over them and are smaller in size than outdoor arenas, which can be very large and most often do not have roofs over them, although there are some notable exceptions to this.
As noted above, seating in arenas and stadiums tend to be a bit different as well, since outdoor stadiums are obliged to focus on accommodating larger numbers of fans, and that means comfort may not be the top priority in such venues. A design feature which is common to both stadiums and arenas is the necessity of elevating each row of sporting chairs a few feet above the row below so that a clear line of sight to the field can be enjoyed by all in attendance.
One last point of commonality between stadium seating and arena seating is the fact that the Series Seating company has mastered the design of both kinds of seating, and offers several superior models which can provide all the durability and comfort needed by sports enthusiasts all around the world. If you're considering different possibilities for stadium seating or arena seating for your venue, check out the offerings from Series Seating, and you probably won't have to look any further than that.