Football fever: Continental ensures seating comfort at major sporting events in the United States
- Jim Hill, football fan and Continental's head of the North American region for its business area ContiTech: “We ensure comfortable seating for football fans.”
- Hard Rock Stadium in Miami: Surface material from Winchester, Virginia, defies sunlight and high humidity
- Numerous soccer stadiums in Germany are equipped with seat cushions from Continental
Hanover, January 16, 2020. The technology company Continental equips some of the largest and most important stadiums in the world with its upholstery materials – including the Hard Rock Stadium in North Miami, home of the Miami football team. In early February it will host one of the largest sporting events in the country. There will hardly be any empty seats in the 65,326-seat stadium. With a game duration of three to four hours, plus a halftime show, football fans will spend almost a whole day here. For them to fully enjoy the game, comfortable seats are a must. In the sunny state of Florida, however, comfort doesn't just mean a well-padded seat: on about 230 days a year, the sun shines mercilessly at the stadium for hours on end. Continental has developed a solution to ensure that the seats are nevertheless kept at a comfortable temperature. "We ensure comfortable seating for football fans while using a special 'cool colors' technology,” says Jim Hill, who is a passionate fan of footballand within Continental heading the North American region for its business area ContiTech. “In addition to nanocoating, we use special color pigments that reflect up to 80 percent of UV radiation in the near infrared range. The result: the heating of the upholstery made in our Winchester, Virginia, plant is reduced by about 20 percent and the material remains cooler than other textiles by up to 15 degrees Celsius."
More than 7000 seats at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami include surface material from Continental.
However, stadium operators are faced with completely different challenges. "In Miami, not only are the temperatures high, but the humidity is too. This challenges the seating material quite a bit - not to mention the regular wear and tear at the events," added Hill. A surface material must withstand this so that the stadium still looks its best years later. For the comprehensive renovation of the Arena 2015, the operators therefore opted for Continental's skai cool colors Venezia material and incorporated it into more than 7,000 seats.
Impressive design, feel and choice of colors
The material’s visual impact is enhanced by the sporty yet elegant appearance of its finely detailed textile look.
About 85 percent of the material consists of a PVC composite, about 13 percent is made of PES knitted fabrics and vinyl. The nanocoating makes the upholstery material not only extremely UV-resistant, but also weather- and stain-resistant. This also makes it very easy to clean. Even drinks, food scraps or shoe marks hardly leave any visible traces on the seats.
Visually, the operators like the material's fine textile look, which makes it appear elegantly sporty. The woven structure also provides a pleasant feel. Another important factor is the color. The option "iceblue" perfectly matches the colors of the Miami football team. "Thanks to the range of 12 colors, we can supply tailor-made solutions for our customers," Hill explained.
At Home in the Soccer World
Thanks to the nano-coating and special material technology, the seat cushions remain up to 15°C cooler than other textiles.
Many soccer clubs in Germany are also taking advantage of this benefit and have equipped their stadiums with seat cushions in club colors. Thanks to the skai surface material, fans – whether in Munich, Wolfsburg or Mönchengladbach – are assured of a comfortable seat at every game throughout the season. The same applies to ice hockey games and track-and-field meets. In total, seat covers from Continental are used at more than 50 sports arenas worldwide and are therefore a regular fixture at the most important sports events – particularly in Europe.
The material was so well received in the USA that it was given an award by the North American Seating Company. And the use of the material is not limited to stadiums only. It is also used in restaurants, public places, residential areas, healthcare, retail, and other outdoor applications. Soon the material will appear on screen in front of millions and millions of people – even if the 7,000 seats at the world's largest football event are guaranteed to be occupied by people in the audience.
Wolfgang Reinert
Head of Media & Public Relations
ContiTech