First Annual CELES Lecture
Design and Construction of Retractable Roof Stadiums
by Larry Griffis, P.E.
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Hancock 100
5:00 to 6:00 pm, Reception to Follow
 Retractable roof stadiums have ushered in a new era in the evolution of sports stadiums around the world. Gone are the Kingdome, Riverfront Stadium and Three Rivers Stadium. The venerable Astrodome sits idle and the Superdome future is clouded at best. The high cost of new stadiums demands that they be more versatile and not just used on game days. The new stadiums need to accommodate more types of sporting and non-sporting events to be viable. They need to be both open air and enclosed for a wide range of venues. That means stadiums with retractable roofs.
This seminar will address the structural engineering challenges that go into the design and construction of this new genre of building type – the retractable roof stadium and ballpark. Featured will be the new Reliant Stadium – home of the NFL Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Minute Maid Park – the home of the Houston Astros, and Cardinals Stadium – home of the NFL Arizona Cardinals. These buildings are often hailed for their architectural design, but they are mostly structure and mechanization. In this arena, the structural engineer is in charge, and bears most of the responsibility.
With spans typically ranging from 500 to 800 feet or more, these “long span” roof structures with moving roofs present a host of challenges ranging from the economics of spanning long distances with moving loads, the constructability aspects of putting the steel structure in place and the wind loading that such buildings receive depending on their roof configuration – open or closed. What type of steel is used to keep the weight down, how are the steel truss connections made, how are the roofs erected and what role does this play in the structural engineering design, how are the roofs operated for potential thunderstorm and hurricane wind conditions, what happens if a mechanization failure occurs and how is this accommodated in the structural design, how are natural turf fields accommodated in the operation and maintenance of the building – all these types of questions will be addressed in this seminar.
Larry Griffis, P.E., is President of the Structural Division of Walter P. Moore and Associates, a nationally recognized engineering firm specializing is major sports facilities. Mr. Griffis has directed or made significant contributions to the structural design of over fifty major buildings throughout the United States and internationally. He has combined his 32 years of practical design and management experience with ongoing involvement in numerous technical committees, exploring and documenting specialized structural issues of design, construction, and delivery. He has developed particular expertise in the design of long span roof structures, high-rise buildings, composite steel and concrete systems, and analysis of large buildings under wind forces.
Mr. Griffis’ honors include the "AISC Lifetime Achievement Award, finalist as ENR magazine’s "Construction Man of the Year," and the AISC T.R. Higgins Award. He was named to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003, the highest praise bestowed by peers in the industry.
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