DESIGN OF PARK AND RECREATION AREAS 155 



football games these considerations would call for a modification of the 

 seating design with the provision of more seats at the vantage points men- 

 tioned above. However, the seating plan usually followed in the general pur- 

 pose stadium meets fairly satisfactorily all necessary seating requirements. 

 The municipal stadium at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is an excellent illus- 

 tration of a type of seating design admirably adapted to viewing baseball 

 but less suitable for viewing football. (See Plate 62, page 154.) 



There are three general methods of handling the problem of supports 

 for the seat tiers. These are: (i) using natural slopes as in Tacoma High 

 School Stadium; (2) constructing mounds as in the case of the Baltimore, 

 Maryland, and Columbus, Georgia, stadiums; (3) erecting a framework 

 of reinforced concrete as in the Chicago Stadium. Sometimes more than 

 one method is used in different parts of the stadium. 



Of these three methods the first and second are better from the stand- 

 point of general park design. By using these methods even so huge a struc- 

 ture as a stadium usually is can be handled somewhat in harmony with the 

 ideals of park treatment. The loss in three methods is that there is no 

 space under the seat decks for all the needed indoor facilities, thus necessi- 

 tating the construction of a special field house as at Baltimore. It may, of 

 course, be possible to construct cellarlike rooms in the embankment under 

 the seats but this is not as desirable as having a special field house. 



There appears to be no special reason why the first row of seats should 

 be elevated several feet above the field. The occasion for such an arrange- 

 ment in ancient stadiums was often real, but there is no such element of 

 danger in the use of modern stadiums. By locating the first row nearly on 

 a level with the field considerable economy of space is attained and it may 

 not be so necessary to extend the tiers of seats so high. 



At regular intervals there should be openings through the seat tiers 

 on the ground level for the proper circulation of air. Some stadiums in this 

 country are almost unbearable both to the players and spectators on a 

 hot afternoon because of lack of provision for air circulation. For a stadium 

 with both ends open this provision is not so necessary, although it is desirable 

 for the purpose of securing cross currents of air. 



In the installation of water pipes and sewers in stadiums it is desirable 

 to make the capacity at least one-third larger than the normal demands 

 will require. Few stadiums erected in this country have not been taxed at 

 times far beyond their capacity in this respect, creating very unfortunate 

 conditions and suffering among the spectators, due to the inadequate 

 capacity of these facilities. 



