The present invention relates to a sports stadium having a turf field, such as a field of artificial or natural grass. In particular the invention relates to such a stadium where the turf can be removed and/or re-assembled in a quick fashion without disturbing adjacent elements of the stadium, such as the spectators stands. The invention also relates to associated methods using the sports stadium.
Modern sports stadiums are costly to build and maintain. Hence it is in the owner's interest to use it as much as possible in order to meet the costs. For instance, the home ground of a football team is used for sports typically once every second week during the season, and even less outside the season. In addition there will typically be some other matches such as cup matches. As a result, the stadium will be left unused in most of its time. In the last decades, one has started to use such stadiums also for cultural events such as large concerts. Such events constitute an important income for the stadium owners.
However, a large concert held on a natural turf field will or may destroy the grass. Means of protecting the turf are often used, but are not always sufficient. Moreover such protecting means takes time to install and remove. As a result, the stadium owner cannot quickly change the modus of the stadium between a sports event and a cultural event. He is bound by his obligation to provide a quality turf for the sports event, making it difficult to provide possible dates for other cultural events.
This problem has existed for decades and several known solutions have been suggested to overcome it. Some solutions regard protecting or covering the field, while others involve removing the field instead of protecting it in situ.
German publication DE2924904 from 1980 describes a floor consisting of floor modules which are adapted to cover an ice field. The modules are plates that are removed from the ice and stored below a ceiling. Thus the modules protect the ice when the ice field is not in use.
Another system adapted for protection of an existing field is described in European patent application publication EP1500416. It describes a sheet cover rolled onto a roller that is arranged in a trench. To protect the turf field, the cover is rolled out and laid onto the field.
Turfgrass Bulletin presents an article in its October issue of 2001 (Issue No. 214) describing a pitch made up of movable turf modules. The modules are approximately 1-2 m2 each and are moved out of the stadium by an ordinary forklift. Below the turf modules there is a fixed support base, such as a concrete floor.
Such a system is also described in publication GB2138690. The publication describes how the individual modules can be moved or replaced to facilitate uneven wear or the turves to be equated from within the arena or replacement from spare units.
The solutions involving covering the turf field exhibit a problem in that the grass will deteriorate if covered for long periods. Furthermore, even if covered with plates or a sheet cover, events such as a concert, with all the associated equipment such as a stage and trucks and camera/sound gear and audience, will physically damage the turf.
The solutions involving removing the turf exhibit a disadvantage in that removing the vast number of turf modules is cumbersome and time consuming. Moreover, storage space for the turf modules is needed either outside the stadium or within the stadium construction. The latter represents valuable space such as for office premises, shops, VIP-rooms, etc. Hence this is not a desired solution.
The object of the present invention is to provide a solution that remedies the disadvantages of the solutions according to the prior art. A particular object of the invention is to provide a solution that makes possible a quick removal of the turf field and also a quick re-assembly of the turf field.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a sports stadium with a turf field and a surrounding spectators stand. The turf field comprises a plurality of turf modules supported on a fixed support base. The turf modules are movable on the fixed support base, thereby being removable from the fixed support base. According to the invention, the fixed support base exhibits an aperture constituting access to a storage room below the fixed support base. The storage room is adapted for storage of the turf modules. Moreover, a lift is arranged to move turf modules through the aperture.
As used herein, a sports stadium is a location where sports, such as fotball (soccer) or American football, is performed on a regular basis. Such sports stadiums according to the invention are stadiums that are surrounded partly or fully by spectators stands. Preferably at least three out of four sides of a substantially rectangular turf field is provided with a spectators stand. Even more preferably all four sides of such a turf field are provided with spectators stands. Also intersections between stands extending parallel to a rectangular side of such a turf field may advantageously be provided with spectators stands. The turf field may also be of a non-rectangular shape.
The turf field may comprise natural grass or artificial grass.
According to the invention, the aperture is arranged in the fixed support base. Advantageously the aperture is arranged in an area of the turf field, thereby constituting a part of the sports field or pitch when the turf field is in use. In such a preferred embodiment the aperture will be closed during use of the turf field and also covered by one or more turf modules.
The fixed support base is plane and can for instance comprise concrete and/or asphalt.
Preferably the sports stadium according to the invention comprises an aperture support base adapted to be removably fixed in the aperture. One can, however, also imagine an embodiment without such an aperture support base. In such an embodiment the lift can be positioned to maintain a turf module in the position of the aperture.
The lift can comprise a lifting section that has two or more module shelves, in stead of one, which each is adapted to accommodate a turf module or more turf modules. In one embodiment, the module shelves can be arranged horizontally adjacent each other in substantially the same plane/level. In another embodiment, the shelves can be arranged on top of each other, resulting in a smaller required aperture. One can also imagine more than one lift adapted to lift the turf modules through the aperture. For instance, one may arrange two or three or even more lifts in association with the aperture.
The turf modules can advantageously exhibit an interlocking mechanism that releasably locks adjacent turf modules together. Such a mechanism will ensure that the modules remain in their correct mutual position so that no clearances will appear between the turf modules. In one embodiment the interlocking mechanism can exhibit sliding engaging inclined surfaces that will keep the turf modules in abutment with each other.
Preferably, the largest turf module exhibits a turf area of more than 30 m2. Preferably, the area is more than 100 m2. Furthermore, the entire turf field can advantageously comprise less than 100 turf modules. A small number of turf modules will reduce the required time needed to assemble or disassemble the turf field. In addition the amount of interfaces between the turf modules will be reduced, facilitating a more uniform turf field.
Preferably, the lift is arranged below the aperture so that horizontal movement of the lift is not required. Moreover, a plurality of module storage shelves in the storage room can be arranged in a vertical row adjacent a vertical lifting path of the lift. Thereby only a horizontal movement of the turf modules between the module storage shelves and the lift is needed for transportation of the turf modules into or out of the module storage shelves in the storage room.
The aperture can advantageously be arranged at a distance from the surrounding spectators stand of at least the distance constituted by one turf module. That is, in this embodiment at least one row of turf modules will be arranged between an aperture row and the end line of the turf field. The aperture row is the row of turf modules that will extend over the aperture. When installing the turf modules to assemble the turf field, the row of turf modules that is finally lifted out from the storage room will be this aperture row. To be able to lift these final turf modules up and through the aperture, the adjacent turf modules must be arranged at some distance from the aperture in order to avoid collision with the turf modules already installed. Hence, when the finally elevated row (the aperture row) has been elevated, it will be moved into abutment with the adjacent row. Thereafter a row being between the aperture row and the said end line will be moved after and into abutment with the aperture row to complete the turf field. As a result of this, the fixed support base needs to extend beyond the turf field in this area, so as to make possible the final movement of the end row into abutment with the rest of the rows.
For making the turf modules movable on a flat surface, such as the fixed support base, they can comprise a set of wheels that are adapted to be moved up and down with respect to the turf module. In another embodiment, they comprise a set of air cushions activated by supplying pressurized air.
The storage room can in one embodiment comprise artificial lighting adapted for grass growth. The storage room can preferably also comprise a watering arrangement adapted to provide the grass with water. Hence, with the combination of light and water, the user will be able to maintain the turf in the storage room under controllable conditions. For instance during cold weather, such as in the winter time, the user can store the turf in a heated environment in the storage room. By controlling temperature, water supply and nutrition to the turf, he can adjust the grow rate of a natural grass turf within a large range.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of removing a turf field of a sports stadium. The turf field is surrounded by spectator stands. Moreover the turf field comprises a plurality of turf modules which have been assembled together to constitute the turf field. According to the second aspect of the invention, the method comprises the following steps
The aperture support base may in one embodiment be a rigid plane element which can be locked in place in the aperture, in plane with the fixed support base that surrounds the aperture. One may also arrange the lift in such an elevation that its lifting section constitutes the aperture support base and fills the aperture and is in plane with the adjacent fixed support base surrounding the aperture. In such an embodiment a dedicated aperture support base is not needed.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of protecting a turf field of a sports stadium from a cold temperature during winter.
The method comprises the following steps:
It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the various features and embodiments described in reference to the first aspect of the invention may also apply to the second and third aspect of the invention.
In some embodiments of the various aspects of the invention, in stead of one lift, one may employ a plurality of lifts, for instance two or three. The lifts may be arranged next to each other, preferably below the aperture. In this manner more lifts can operate simultaneously and the transport of turf modules through the aperture can be performed faster. Such a redundancy of lifts will further reduce the negative effect of a malfunctioning lift.
While the invention has been described in general terms above, a more detailed example of embodiment will be given in the following with reference to the drawings, in which
In the storage room 107 there is a lift supporting base 109, which is arranged to support a lift. Above the lift supporting base 109 in the storage room 107 there is an aperture 111 in the fixed support base 105. The aperture 111 is of such size that a turf module 101 can be moved through it while in a horizontal position, i.e. without changing its orientation. In some embodiments the aperture 111 may be large enough to move for instance two or three or even more adjacently arranged turf modules 101 through it.
In
Next to the lift 115 the storage room 107 comprises a plurality of module storage shelves 117. As will be described further below, the turf modules 101 are movable on a flat surface. Hence, by means of the lift 115 the modules 101 can be positioned next to a module storage shelf 117 and then be moved from the lift 115 onto the shelf 117. A turf module 101 may also be moved from the module storage shelf 117 onto the lift 115, in order to move it from the storage room 107, through the aperture 111 and onto the fixed support base 105.
In
In
In
A variety of possible ways exist for moving the turf modules 101. For instance one may attach a motorized vehicle to them in order to push or pull them. One may also connect a winch to them, over a wire in order to pull them, preferably with a motorized winch.
In the storage room 107, movement of the turf modules 101 may also be performed by means of winch arrangements (not shown). One can also imagine using hydraulic pistons, for instance telescopic pistons, having one end that can attach to the modules to either push or pull the turf modules into and out of the module storage shelves 117. Another alternative is to arrange motorized conveyor belts (not shown) on the module storage shelves 117 and on the module shelf 125 of the lifting section 123 of the lift 115.
Such a module truck 141 could also be employed with a turf module 101 having a set of wheels 127, as described above. The truck 141 could then for instance deliver hydraulic pressure to the turf module 101 for moving the wheels 127 up or down. The module truck 141 could also, in stead, have a mechanical interface with the turf module 101 enabling actuation of the wheels 127 up or down. This could for instance be a mechanical rotating interface.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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20110952 | Jun 2011 | NO | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/NO2012/050129 | 7/2/2012 | WO | 00 | 12/20/2013 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2013/002649 | 1/3/2013 | WO | A |
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20140123566 A1 | May 2014 | US |