Look up Santiago Bernabéu or Camp Nou, two of the largest stadiums in Europe, and you find no over ground parking lots. Same applies to most stadiums, with many actually being very well articulated with mass transit, to the point that it’s much quicker to just take the subway/train/bus on match day than to be stuck in traffic for hours.
If the stadium is anywhere near an urban setting only bad design warrants the building of (massive) car parks - and everybody using cars to get there. Shopping centres warrant large car parks because people load up with items. Sports grounds need to get people in and out in tight windows - there’s no contest in car v rail in this respect.
Every IKEA I can think of has the garage in the building and they have many spots as well as people loading large items, so it’s possible. For normal shopping centers I think it’s also mostly indoor/underground stuff (Europe).
Yeah - between you and me - the real reason is like the castles, fortresses, monasteries and cathedrals of the past a stadium is built as a statement building. Uniquely identifiable as the cultural home of that tribe. I don’t think there’s ever been a trainee architect who wants to design parking garages when they grow up. Some stadiums are a triumph of form over function. Also the large empty surrounding flat areas enforce the impact of the architectural qualities by removing any outside context or reference… but you didn’t hear any of that from me.
I know this is only one example but the Tampa Bay Lighting have a parking garage right across from the main entrance and use the wall facing the entrance as a viewing screen so even if you cant/don’t get tickets you can still warch along out front and hear the roar of the stadium. There’s a bar and everything out there
Why do you ask this as if it’s not a thing?
Look up Santiago Bernabéu or Camp Nou, two of the largest stadiums in Europe, and you find no over ground parking lots. Same applies to most stadiums, with many actually being very well articulated with mass transit, to the point that it’s much quicker to just take the subway/train/bus on match day than to be stuck in traffic for hours.
Sorry, for the pedants out there, ‘why don’t all stadiums have parking garage systems instead of flat parking lots?’
If the stadium is anywhere near an urban setting only bad design warrants the building of (massive) car parks - and everybody using cars to get there. Shopping centres warrant large car parks because people load up with items. Sports grounds need to get people in and out in tight windows - there’s no contest in car v rail in this respect.
Every IKEA I can think of has the garage in the building and they have many spots as well as people loading large items, so it’s possible. For normal shopping centers I think it’s also mostly indoor/underground stuff (Europe).
Yeah - between you and me - the real reason is like the castles, fortresses, monasteries and cathedrals of the past a stadium is built as a statement building. Uniquely identifiable as the cultural home of that tribe. I don’t think there’s ever been a trainee architect who wants to design parking garages when they grow up. Some stadiums are a triumph of form over function. Also the large empty surrounding flat areas enforce the impact of the architectural qualities by removing any outside context or reference… but you didn’t hear any of that from me.
I know this is only one example but the Tampa Bay Lighting have a parking garage right across from the main entrance and use the wall facing the entrance as a viewing screen so even if you cant/don’t get tickets you can still warch along out front and hear the roar of the stadium. There’s a bar and everything out there
I’m genuinely quite impressed with that whole idea… good on them. Thanks for letting me know.