Today I went with my Art History Professor Shaw Smith to visit Panthers Stadium. Shaw is a huge panthers football guy and in addition to being my advisor for my major, he is able to offer many interesting insights to the sporting world. He works at the sidelines of the panther games, and has the inside scoop to the stadium facilities.
The stadium is massive, a huge grey and blue concrete building that looks almost like it has wings on the top. The inside of the building is meticulously organized by function. Since Shaw works in the laundry and equipment areas, we visited there first and went on a tour with one of his coworkers, a guy who knows the ins and outs of the stadium and the way that it is managed.
A few notes for further study:
1. Everything in the stadium has its specific place. In the locker rooms, every Jersey is hung on a specific spot, the lockers are grouped in positional order, and all of the shoes, helmets, etc have their specific spot. The same is true for the storage and laundry rooms-- everything is color coded, and there are multiples of everything. Its amazing how many pair of shoes these pro players need for a game, let alone jerseys, helmets, gloves...
2. Visual unification. I was impressed at the degree to which everything in the stadium followed the Panthers theme. The rugs have x and o markings like play diagrams, tiles have panther whiskers, the great panthers pyramid of success is replicated in the weightroom, in the hallways, and the logos are literally everywhere. If you are an opposing team member, you are definitely in foreign territory. On a side note, Shaw's friend pointed out the construction of the opposing locker rooms. Good locker rooms, he said, were wide open with plenty of extra space. However, some teams will put walls down the middle of a guest locker room to separate the team, or will paint the locker room strange, ugly colors, or will make it small and cramped. This acts as a kind of psychological barrier for the opposing team to overcome in preparing for game time.
3. Barrel vaulting. Shaw was quick to point out that the arrangement of the Panthers arena was very similar to the barrel vaulting employed by the Romans in the coliseum. I hope to find more similarities as I go on...
4. Entrances. These seem to define a very important part of the ritualistic aspect of the sporting event. Perhaps relations to Turner's Liminality? The entrance for the spectators is grand, framed by an almost Roman looking arch system, flanked by symmetrical growling Panther statues. Perhaps these could be equivalents to the imposing images of the Gorgon on Greek Temples, like the one on the pediment of the temple of Artemis at Corfu.
In addition, the entrances that the players take to reach the field is through a tunnel that grows gradually smaller, and then suddenly opens up to the light and sound of the stadium. The parallels between the spectator and player experience is similar in this respect, I think, although I would like to examine it further.
5. The relationship between inside and outside. This outdoor stadium contains some views to the exterior of the stadium, through large windows or square holes in the facade. Perhaps notions of privelage can be associated between how far inside one is allowed to get-- "right on the sidelines"-- or how far away "luxury seats or skyboxes". Which is more important for what kind of people? What is the relationship between the ability to see certain things and the status of the individual? And what about cameras?
6. The role of technology. The coaches within the stadium use videoediting to review plays and to relay the information to the coaches on the field, the coach talks to the the QB using a radio, video is edited on the spot and catalogued by play, player, or situation for further reference. The cameramen just drive their trucks into the stadium and plug into a pre-wired system of video-- so while the essential shape of the stadium is unchanged the technology/wiring changes all of the time.
That's about it for now... Hopefully I can find some connections between a stadium like this and one like the Coliseum. I also forgot to bring my camera; next time I will get more pictures! Luckily, most of what I saw is accessible on the Panthers website: http://www.panthers.com/Stadium/Default.aspx?id=1570...
P.S. The man so kind enough to take me on the tour is named Don, he is the Assistant Equip. Manager.
