Seating capacity - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Seating capacity refers to the number of people

People

People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*...

who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

that seats two to a stadium

Stadium

A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...

that seats over 100,000 people. The largest sporting venue in the world, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....

, has a permanent seating capacity for more than 257,000 people and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000.

Seating capacity in venues

Safety is a primary concern in determining the seating capacity of a venue, as "[s]eating capacity, seating layouts and densities are largely dictated by legal requirements for the safe evacuation of the occupants in the event of fire". The International Building Code

International Building Code

The International Building Code is a model building code developed by the International Code Council . It has been adopted throughout most of the United States.-History:...

specifies that "[i]n places of assembly, the seats shall be securely fastened to the floor", providing exceptions if the total number of seats is fewer than 100, if there is a substantial amount of space available between seats, or if the seats are at tables. It also delineates the number of available exits for interior balconies and galleries based on the seating capacity, and sets forth the number of required wheelchair

Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...

spaces in a table derived from the seating capacity of the space.

The International Fire Code, portions of which have been adopted by many jurisdictions, is directed more towards the use of a facility than the construction. It specifies that "[f]or areas having fixed seating without dividing arms, the occupant load shall not be less than the number of seats based on one person for each 18 inches (457 mm) of seating length". It also requires that every public venue submit a detailed site plan to the local fire code official, including "details of the means of egress, seating capacity, [and] arrangement of the seating..."

Once safety considerations have been satisfied, determinations of seating capacity turn on the total size of the venue, and its purpose. For sports venues, "[t]he decision on maximum seating capacity is determined by several factors. Chief among these are the primary sports program and the size of the market area". In motion picture venues, "[t]he limit of seating capacity is determined by the maximal viewing distance for a given size of screen", with image quality for closer viewers declining as the screen is expanded to accommodate more distant viewers.

Seating capacity of venues also plays a role in what media they are able to provide, and how they are able to provide it. In contracting to permit performers to use a theater or other performing space, "[t]he seating capacity of the performance facility nust be disclosed". Seating capacity may influence the kind of contract to be used, and the royalties to be given. The seating capacity must also be disclosed to the copyright owner in seeking a license for the copyrighted work to be performed in that venue.

Venues that may be leased for private functions such as ballroom

Ballroom

A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...

s and auditoriums generally advertise their seating capacity. Seating capacity is also an important consideration in the construction and use of sports venues such as stadium

Stadium

s and arena

Arena

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

s. When entities such as the NFL's

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

Committee decide on a venue for a particular event, seating capacity – which reflects the possible number of tickets that can be sold for the event – is an important consideration.

Legal capacity and total capacity

Seating capacity differs from total capacity (sometimes called public capacity), which describes the total number

Number

A number is a mathematical object used to count and measure. In mathematics, the definition of number has been extended over the years to include such numbers as zero, negative numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, and complex numbers....

of people who can fit in a venue or in a vehicle

Vehicle

A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....

either sitting or standing. Where seating capacity is a legal requirement, however – as it is in movie theater

Movie theater

A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....

s and on aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

– then the law reflects the fact that the number of people allowed in should not exceed the number who can be seated. Use of the term "public capacity" indicates that a venue can permissibly hold more people than it can actually seat. Again, this maximum total number of people can refer to the physical space available, or limitations set by law.

Seating capacity in venues

Legal capacity and total capacity

See also