Sports events offer excitement, fun and entertainment, and, ideally, the spectators’ favorite team wins in the end. Week after week, thousands of sports enthusiasts flock to sports arenas worldwide to cheer on their team from the grandstands. They all have one thing in common: everybody wants the best seat in the stadium, with a good view of the playing field, maybe even sheltered from the rain, and if possible, the seat should be comfortable. Of course that’s possible! Our upholstery materials are making more and more stadium grandstands comfortable – including the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida, home of the Miami football team. This year’s world-famous American Football final of the professional league will take place there.
A superlative event – we’re there too
The final day of the American professional football season is one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Almost 100 million spectators watch the game on television – while 65,326 get to experience it live, right there in the stadium. Tickets are highly sought after – and also expensive. So anyone spending this much wants to get their money’s worth. While we can’t influence the game’s outcome, we do ensure that cheering fans can sit comfortably throughout the entire game. How? When the Hard Rock Stadium was renovated in 2015, our material skai® cool colors Venezia was used for more than 7,000 of the stadium’s seats.
Impressive design, feel, and choice of colors
The nanocoating makes the upholstery material not only extremely UV-resistant and weatherproof, but also dirt-repellent. This also makes cleaning easier, and even beverages, food debris, or shoe prints leave hardly a trace on the seats. “In addition, we use special color pigments that reflect up to 80 percent of UV radiation in the near infrared range. As a result, the upholstery heats up some 20 percent less, so the material remains up to 15°C (27°F) cooler than other textiles,” says Jim Hill, a passionate football fan and head of the North American region of the ContiTech business area in Continental. What’s more, the product is manufactured at our production plant in Winchester, Virginia.
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Jim Hill is the head of the North American region of the ContiTech business area at Continental – and a passionate fan of American football:
“Thanks to our skai surface materials, sports fans sit comfortably in major arenas around the globe – even at the biggest American football event in the world. That’s something we’re proud of.” |
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Visually, the material is both elegant and sporty. At the same time, the woven structure ensures a pleasant feel. Another important factor in decision-making is color. The “iceblue” variant 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,” explains Hill. And that’s not all: in addition to surface materials for stadium seats, our skai product range also offers upholstery for armchairs in VIP areas, seating in lounges, and the team benches.
At home in the world of sports
Whether in Warsaw, Zurich, or Berlin: our seat surfaces form part of more than 50 sports venues worldwide, and therefore regularly serve their purpose at major global sporting events – especially in Europe. Our skai materials provide a special touch at events such as international athletics competitions, and soccer and ice hockey matches. Upholstery fabrics with a textile structure and an attractive microfiber or extravagant leather look offer the right seating comfort for every arena and every group of spectators – and in the right club colors, of course.
You can find the complete portfolio here.