ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Stadia and arenas, increasingly referred to as public assembly facilities (PAFs) [1], are venues of extremes. On the one hand, they are the setting for some of the most exciting, enjoyable and often profitable events in the world. On the other, they have been the scene of many terrible disasters [2]. In 1966, 300 people died in a stadium riot in Lima in Peru. In 1992, 13 people were killed when a temporary stand collapsed early in a football cup semi-final in Corsica. In June 1996, 15 football fans died when a wall collapsed in a crowd stampede during a world cup match in Zambia. Not to mention either Heysel in Belgium or the catalogue of disasters involving the deaths of hundreds of British football supporters. The many well-documented near misses, for example the collapse of a stand during a Pink Floyd concert at London’s Earl’s Court arena, are further evidence of the potential for PAFs disasters.
