Stadiums as studios: How the media shape space in the new Juventus Stadium

Abstract

In recent years, Italy has been engrossed in a large debate concerning the construction of new stadiums owned by football (soccer) clubs. Far from being a local issue, this debate is occurring in most Western countries (Trumpbour, 2007). Through the analysis of the new Juventus Stadium in Turin — the first “private and integrated” stadium in Italy — we will shed light on the role of media in the decision to build new stadiums and in their spatial configuration. The role of the media is important for several reasons. First of all, they contribute to creating a favourable climate of opinion regarding the need to build a new stadium. In addition, the needs of the media influence the architectural characteristics and spatial layout of the new stadiums. Finally, innovative marketing and media–intensive campaigns play a central role in the construction of the relationship between fans and stadiums (topophilia).

Okos stadionok – Hogyan reformálja a digitális ökoszisztéma a sportinfrastruktúra üzemeltetését és a sportszolgáltatások modelljét

“…1. Mivel a helyszíni nézőkön túl a médiát és a szponzorokat is figyelembe kell venni (Palvarini-Tosi, 2013), a stadionoknak többféle igényt is ki kell elégíteniük (bár a prioritást a helyszíni nézők kapják, hiszen utóbbi kettő kereslete is ebből származtatható).…”

Smart Stadium as a Laboratory of Innovation: Technology, Sport, and Datafied Normalization of the Fans

“…The smart stadium presents an interdisciplinary topic of study that merges different scholarly perspectives. While stadiums have been studied mostly by sport geographers and architectural historians in terms of their influence on broader urban transformation (Bale, 2003;Flowers, 2011;Frank & Steets, 2010;Gratton & Henry, 2001), they provide a space of productive inquiry for mediasport scholars as they are a "space thoroughly permeated by media technologies" (Palvarini & Tosi, 2013).…”

“…Sport scholars adopting a cultural approach examined the symbolic construction of meaning amongst the stadium attendants (Butterworth, 2014;Kassing & Nyaupane, 2019). Adding a "spatial" lens, another group of scholars has examined the role of mediasport in the production of space and highlighted how the stadium could be viewed as a mediated architecture which functions as a "giant entertainment studio" (Frank & Steets, 2010;Palvarini & Tosi, 2013).…”