Rothenburg, Germany – Shining eyes for sport development planners and architects: A multi-functional playing field for ball sports, above it a light-weight, elegantly rising roof.
This exhibition and trade conference of the German regional sports association, Landessportbund Hessen, was focussed on the topic of "Sustainability and Development of Sport (facilities)".
The SportsDome from Erhard Sport is convincing in its entirety.
The SportsDome The SportsDome is the feasible and practicable solution for a major problem of today's sports facility infrastructure – the lack of covered playing fields, i.e. pitches which are roofed and can be used in all weathers. This kind of playing facility is greatly missed by junior and talent trainers. The concept of the SportsDome also includes considerations from the "10 theses for further development of sports facilities" as laid down by the federal German institute for sport science.
The ten theses
These theses are focused on ten topical fields and formulate basic approaches and scenarios in the development of sports facilities. They are the result of demographic and social-political changes as well as the great diversity of sports activities which make a restructuring of sports facilities planning necessary. This is based, for example on, "Greater demand for covered (roofed) sports facilities, especially for smaller sports centres and other facilities, as multi-functional as possible, easily accessible and located in urban neighbourhoods". For Volker Fehringer, expert consultant with Erhard Sport, the development of the SportsDome is an example of a changed planning culture which is absolutely necessary for the sustainable development of sports facilities.
Dynamic planning
"More is possible if we communicate with each other right from the start," according to Volker Fehringer and Steffen Meyer, head of construction & development with Erhard Sport, in their presentation "Multi-functional small sports centres for schools and leisure recreation" at the sportinfra trade fair. Above and beyond, "cooperative planning and sports development", which brings users, operators and planners together for a project, the know-how of sports equipment manufacturers should be included right from the beginning in the planning procedures. In this way, the sports equipment – heart of each sports centre – can be focused towards the individual requirements in each case. And not only this!
Complete sports centres can be further developed and adapted according to the changing user requirements.
SportsDome - model example
The concept of the SportsDome is a model example of dynamic planning as Steffen Meyer explains: Starting with a mini-playing pitch, simply a patch of ground where a ball can be kicked around, a multi-playing ground was developed, a multi-functional pitch for a range of different ball games. On the initiative of the Bavarian regional sports association (Bayerischen Landessportverbandes), this was further developed to give the SportsDome. Equipped with a multi-functional sport floor surface and a translucent roof, the SportsDome is a financially viable alternative to a sports hall, even for individual sports clubs.
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