Fezile Dabi Stadium, Parys

The roof structure provides protection from the elements to the main grandstand and adjoining stands.  The stadium was officially opened in 2013 but without a roof. As part of the upgrade of the stadium, a new roof was proposed.

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Provide a roof on the existing stands that is both practical as well as aesthetically pleasing on the eye.

Was the project envisaged in steel from the start? If not – why was it built in steel in the end?

Yes proposed as steel from the beginning

Give a brief description of the structural framing. What type of sections were used (e.g. hollow, cellular, I beams etc) and why?

The roof trusses and supporting columns are made entirely from Circular Hollow Sections (CHS)

Give a brief description of the cladding process (complexity, difficulty, innovation etc)

The bull-nose on the stadium roofs were a concern. A mock-up was carried out at the steelwork fabricator’s premises and approval was given to continue as planned

Were there any challenges in the fabrication of the project from the engineer’s design – if yes, please tell? Tell more about fabrication and erection process if it was complex, difficult, innovative etc.

The fabrication process required several fabrication jigs to be made up to accommodate the 84-no trusses required for the project. The tubular sections were rolled into various radii and the cross bracing were individually profiled cut to allow a stub-on connection to the main truss struts. The challenges faced during erection involved fitting a new roof onto an existing structure. Interface connections that were not in the envisaged locations, resulted in modifications having to be carried out on new steelwork.

What is special/ unusual/ innovative/ aesthetic about the steelwork/cladding
in this project?

The project is aesthetically appealing in that a previous stadium is now provided with a roof which enables the spectators to have some protection from the elements.

How did the project team work together (e.g contractor involved early, challenges/ ease of communication etc.)

Constant communication between the Steelwork Contractor and the Structural Engineer was critical to get agreement on being able to fit the new roof to the existing stadium stands.