A modern stadium (plural stadiums or stadia in English) is a place, or venue, for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.
History of the stadium
The word originates from the Greek "stadion" (στάδιον), literally a (place where people) stand. The oldest known stadium is the one in
Olympia, in western
Peloponnese,
Greece, where the
Olympic Games of antiquity were held since
776 BC. Initially the Games consisted of a single event, a sprint along the length of the stadium. Therefore the length of the Olympia stadium was more or less standardized as a measure of distance (approximately 190 meters or 210 yd). The practice of standardizing footrace tracks to a length of 180-200 meters (200-220 yd) was followed by the Romans as well. Interestingly enough, a human's capacity to sustain maximum speed is known to diminish after about 200 meters (220 yd) of sprinting, a fact also seen in modern-day
athletics. Greek and Roman stadia have been found in numerous ancient cities, perhaps the most famous being the
Colosseum or the
Stadium of Domitian, both in
Rome.
The modern stadium
Types
Domed stadiums have roofs that extend over the playing area as well as the typical roof over the seating area. They are called
stadiums because they are large enough for, and designed for, what are generally considered to be outdoor sports. (Those designed for what are usually indoor sports are called
arenas.) Some stadiums have partial roofs, and a few have even been designed to have moveable fields.
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