Central to any football club are the fans’ match day experience and pitch quality, and it was with these factors in mind that the spectacular roof of Rotherham United’s £20m New York Stadium was designed and built using over 4,800m2 of Brett Martin’s Marlon CS profiled polycarbonate sheet.
As well as protecting spectators from inclement weather, it was important that the roof design of the new 12,000 seater stadium allowed natural light to penetrate through both onto the pitch and the stands. This ensures fans are able to enjoy a light, bright and airy environment and will also aid pitch maintenance, encouraging grass growth in warmer months, and helping to defrost the pitch in the winter.
The New York Stadium – named after its location in the area of Rotherham in which fire hydrants were made for shipment to New York, USA – is the new long-term home for the Millers. Built to last, Marlon CS Longlife polycarbonate comes with a co-extruded UV protection layer and carries a 10 year warranty on light transmission and durability, guaranteeing daylight onto their new home for years to come.
Designed by S & P Architects, the ‘bowl shaped’ stadium design meant the 2mm thick Marlon CS sheets were supplied in varying lengths. The architecturally inspired stepped roof of the north and south stands also feature vertically glazed sections of the clear Marlon CS allowing the roof to step down towards the river and let more natural daylight into the stands.
“The Brett Martin rooflights were an important design consideration and played their part in helping us to achieve our vision for the stepped roof and this iconic bowl shaped design,” commented Laura Adams of S & P Architects.
The project was managed by Gleeds and building was undertaken by GMI Construction in collaboration with roofing contractors, Roofdec; all companies that have impressive histories of working on stadium projects. Similarly, Brett Martin Daylight Systems has enjoyed success with rooflights featuring in a multitude of sports stadia across the country, including Wembley Stadium, Cardiff City Stadium and Amex Stadium in Brighton to name but a few.
Showing that natural light can improve the atmosphere of even the largest of buildings, Brett Martin, the only European company to manufacture all the main plastic rooflight materials - polycarbonate, GRP and PVC, added New York Stadium to an already extensive stadia portfolio.