SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/69161
Facility&Operations | 2012 Olympic Games >> JOHN HEWITT, who was in charge of the team that de- signed and built the Olympic Sta- dium pitch and track. >> CONSTRUCTION of Olympic Stadium in London. The grass area was shortened to 90 metres long (by 71 metres wide) as op- posed to UEFA-standard football pitches of 105 metres long (by 68 metres wide) to accommo- date Olympic officials at either end of the track/pitch. Designing and building the pitch of Olympic Stadium Editor's note: Thanks to STMA CEO Kim Heck for securing our coverage of this summer's Olympic Games venues via the CEO of the Institute of Groundsmanship, Geoff Webb. The IOG is STMA's second official Inter- national Affiliate Organization. I n a world exclusive interview, specialist sports surface con- structor John Hewitt talks to Editor Colin Hoskins of Groundsman Magazine about his "once in a lifetime" in- volvement in the London 2012 Olympic Games—the design and build of the Olympic Stadium's pitch area. When IOC Athletes' Com- mission Chairman Frank Freder- icks and London 2012 Chair Lord Coe joined others for the photo call on the Olympic Sta- dium pitch to celebrate the lay- ing of the last of the 360 rolls of turf there, included in the out- of-camera team responsible for delivering the project ahead of schedule and within budget was John Hewitt. While the cameras rolled, John was quietly express- ing a similar measure of celebra- tion as the man charged with the design and build of the Sta- 20 SportsTurf | June 2012 dium's "inner bowl" area, the pitch and the running track; in- deed, the complete area within the terracing at the £486 million Stadium (1 Euro = 1.28 US dol- lar). final turf heralded the end of a complex and, he admits, an ex- hausting process that began back in 2005 when his company, He- witt Sportsturf, was commis- sioned as part of Team Stadium by constructors Sir Robert McAlpine to submit a tender and specification for this show- For John, the laying of the case element of the Olympic De- livery Authority's ambitious and exciting Olympic Park project. "While we are renowned as constructors of football pitches, it was clear from the outset that the Olympic Stadium pitch would focus instead on track and field events, even though in the early stages the original design would have accommodated a full UEFA-size soccer pitch," says John. today, an iconic venue that every- one involved with can be very proud of, bears little resemblance to the original design," he con- tinues. "This was no surprise, be- cause as each specialist partner imparted their knowledge and expertise to the design and speci- fication there has been an evolu- "However, what we have The Olympic Stadium: FACTS AND FIGURES Designed to host the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as athletics track and field events, the Stadium will have the capacity for 80,000 people (in Games mode). The Stadium site covers 40 acres. The Stadium, which contains around 10,000 tonnes of steel and is the lightest Olympic Stadium to date - is an ellipse with a long axis of 315 metres and a short axis of 256 metres. It is 60 metres high above the field of play and the perimeter is 860 metres. More than 5,000 reinforced concrete columns were installed into the ground, up to 20 metres deep, to provide the foundations to support the structure. 112 steel rak- ers and 12,000 pre-cast concrete terracing units hold the spectator seating in place. The roof compression truss comprises 28 steel sections, each one being 15 metres high by 30 metres long and weigh 85 tons. A cable net roof provides the correct conditions for the athletes on the field of play and it covers two-thirds of the spectators. The Stadium is lit by 532 floodlights housed in 14 towers which reach 70 metres above the field of play. www.sportsturfonline.com