The added value of BIM when building a sports stadium

by Graham Kelly | August 19, 2022 |  4 min read

Home / Insights / Building Performance / The added value of BIM when building a sports stadium

As digital transformation consultants, our purpose is to help businesses make better decisions, and implement digital processes to solve the way they design and build spaces for enhanced user experiences.

This week as we watch incredible performances from athletes competing at the European Athletics Championships in Munich, it makes me marvel not only at the strength, stamina and commitment that goes into the training to make these athletes the best at what they do, but to applaud the skill and ingenuity that goes into the design and construction of the stadiums they are competing in.  

Major sports and leisure construction and infrastructure projects are extraordinary feats of engineering ingenuity and economic planning, not to mention risk management. Where involvement is required from a vast number of professionals across an experienced supply chain team, made up of designers, contractors, engineers and many more.

At a time when technology has never been more widely used in construction and infrastructure, due to its complexities, the sports and leisure sector can be said to be one that needs the application of BIM on projects more than most. This is a sector in which BIM Academy has supported with our digital construction expertise.

When working in this sector, we start with visualising the user experience, incorporating 4D simulation, pedestrian simulation, disaster planning, event management and operation, through to the digital twins that are driving the strategic planning process. From the early stages of the project, it becomes very clear there are a significant number of benefits to the utilisation of BIM and digital techniques.

Typically sports and leisure projects require built assets that are very different to other buildings, peoples’ experiences of them is often fleeting, meaning the experience is even more important, to keep people coming back or equally keep them moving once inside.

It is also important to remember due to the nature of these buildings’ usage, such as hosting major events like the European Championships, things cannot go wrong! This makes the operations aspect of the building even more important. Establishing a digital backbone to support this is vital that will allow the facilities management (FM) team to better understand and interpret their building.

The opportunities are immense for rolling out BIM and related digital engineering workstreams on major sports and leisure projects. At BIM Academy we recognise no single project is the same with relentless pursuits of greater efficiency and dynamic delivery environments. Our expertise in delivering digital success on such projects is of the highest standard and we are supporting many of the largest sports and leisure clients with projects around the world.

 Some examples of such are Wembley Stadium in London, UK, Forest City, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong. All of which are high-tech facilities for major international sporting events as well as providing facilities for local clubs and communities. Our work supported the design development and multidisciplinary design coordination on site.

Facilities such as these are under extreme pressure from digitally active visitors to provide engaging and interactive experiences and understanding the data behind the development is imperative.

Our role is to provide the tools, support and guidance to enable construction, engineering and infrastructure projects within this sector to deliver upon visitor demands through innovation, quality and value. More detail of how we do this is illustrated in our recently published Digital Excellent in Sport and Leisure report.

At BIM Academy, our purpose is to build trust and solve technological challengers, working in collaboration with sector decision makers to provide an outstanding services to their customers.

Therefore this week, we recognise the hard work that goes into training to become a world class athlete and the work behind the scenes to make this visual spectacle the sporting extravaganza it has become.

To find out more about BIM Academy’s work in the Sports and Leisure sector contact Dr Graham Kelly directly at [email protected]