Talking impromptu both Chris Grundy and Abdul Tabarra agree that technology is driving stadium development in a huge way and especially in the Middle East which boasts a slew of spiffy stadia – the 68,895-capacity Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, the 58,398-capacity King Fahd Sports City Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the planned 45,000-capacity Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium in Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia, to name a few. Technology reigns supreme in all these stadia.
The duo is with ME Engineers which has about 44 years of experience in building the environment services.
Abdul Tabbara is a Senior Director and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) General Manager at ME Engineers and oversees the firm’s Riyadh and Doha offices. He has led several high-profile projects across the Middle East.
Chris Grundy leads ME Engineers’ Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) technology consulting and design group advising on sports and entertainment venue development. His experience spans technology Owner Representative and design roles.
In an exclusive conversation with ‘Coliseum’, Abdul Tabbara, Senior Director and GM MENA, ME Engineers, UK, and Chris Grundy, Technology Group Leader, ME Engineers, UK, asserts that the stadiums have become a web of complex systems – “We have systems for revenue generation, we have systems for safety, systems for fan experience. But the stadiums and the arenas are becoming more complex”.
ME Engineers
Golden (US)-based ME Engineers has earned a reputation as a global leader in the design of innovative mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and technology (MEPT) systems that bring to life the world’s most innovative sports and entertainment venues. ME Engineer’s projects also include large-scale commercial developments, convention centers, higher education buildings, and healthcare facilities. ME’s specialty services include building performance modeling, sustainability design, architectural lighting design, sports lighting design, and commissioning.
Abdul Tabarra started off by stating that the climate (oppressive heat) is a huge challenge in the Middle East – “In the Middle East, the Cities come alive at night. What we see these days is a significant requirement for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) around the buildings, most events are happening at night but at the same time there is a significant requirement of these facilities to run during the day and it brings its own issues and challenges.”
Tech Talk
Chris Grundy who swears by ‘The Sphere’ in Vegas, a building which is tech-packed, observed, “Technology has really changed a lot how people use technology and how they interact with the services in stadiums. And really that kind of evolution has increased through fan experience, safety and security. The future I think will really be a mixture of everything we have before faster, more data-linked, more content-rich and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) could have a number of implications including operational efficiency of the venues.”
Complex Code
Tabarra also observed that having so many systems in a single venue “it brings in all the complexities and that brings in all the challenges and the great challenges in the Middle East I think as designers we face are the codes. The codes are a high-print or a combination of UK-US-European-based codes and it makes our job as designers very difficult.”
Wrap-up
Climate Concern
Abdul Tabarra wrapped up by stating, “The facilities in the Middle East have to match with the climate which is a great driver. But at the same time these games need to be held safely – with the players feeling comfortable on the pitch and the spectators enjoying a comfortable environment. In the day when it is 46 degree this creates a significant challenge from a systems perspective. These new systems are being introduced whether to provide the cooling and comfort for the people to enjoy the game or to allow the players to play safely on the pitch and there is a significant number of systems that need to be run in harmony and this is where technology and technology integration is key.”
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