Mets Citi Field Part of EMSEAL's "Triple-Play" in NY Sports Arena Expansion Joint Sealing
New York City has seen a "triple play" of construction projects in the past year as new, massive, state-of-the-art stadiums for the Mets, Yankees and Jets/Giants are at or near completion.
Each of the new stadiums is a testament to advanced design engineering that will stand the test of time - in part by remaining watertight.
Sports facilities such as these experience constant structural joint shifting and movement due to the weather - rain, wind and temperature - and the millions of fans who pass through the turnstiles to stand, stomp and cheer for their favorite team. A high-level expansion joint system is vital.
Enter EMSEAL Joint Systems, Ltd. of Westborough, Mass., the provider of expansion joint systems for all three projects. New York-area companies working with EMSEAL included contractor Hunt-Bovis and specialty contractor Eagle One Roofing for Citi Field, and general contractor Turner Construction and specialty Contractor Wolkow Braker Roofing for Yankee Stadium.
At the Mets new home of Citi Field, expansion joints play a key role in the stadium's design. Structural expansion joints are design elements necessary to accommodate movements within structures caused by thermal changes, wind, dynamic loading and unloading, and seismic forces. Even an enthusiastic 42,000-fan-driven "wave" can cause differential vertical deflection at stadium expansion joints.
Expansion joints bisect the entire structure and essentially fill the gap between every element of the building--floors, walls, foundations, roofs, bathrooms, suites, waterproofing, and structural supports. These gaps through the building must be made watertight and insulated while also accommodating movement and traffic over the joint material.
EMSEAL's SJS SYSTEM was chosen for use throughout Citi Field as well as the new Yankee Stadium and the new Meadowlands Stadium. It is watertight, quiet, can handle 100 percent of nominal size movements, and features non-invasive anchoring. It is able to work in larger joints (4-inches and larger) to maintain continuity of seal which is the most overlooked aspect of expansion joint sealing. EMSEAL's design philosophy is to ensure that joints do not leak at changes in plane and direction - whether within one system or between technologies.
To handle the high point loads of small-wheeled keg carts, ice-filled food and beverage concession wagons, forklifts, utility lifts and the millions of fan footfalls per game, the SJS SYSTEM is topped with stainless steel coverplates which take the traffic and protect the underlying silicone/self-expanding foam sealant waterproofing and anchoring system of the SJS SYSTEM. They are anchored to the foam-suspended central spline of the SJS SYSTEM with no metal contacts into the adjacent concrete. And, because the coverplates ride on a cushion of EMSEAL's tough, resilient, but flexible and sound attenuating polyurethane nosing material, the SJS SYSTEM is not only watertight but arguably the quietest seismic expansion joint available as well.
The final result in Citi Field is a watertight stadium which prevents the typical consequences of leaks at expansion joints - such as revenue losses from affected concession areas, damage to equipment in storage rooms, disgruntled athletes and suite patrons, and exorbitant repair costs. EMSEAL has made the focus of its products the elimination of these problems in new sports, assembly, convention and performing arts venue construction as well as in retrofit of existing structures.
The EMSEAL expansion joint systems at the new Mets, Yankees and Jets/Giants facilities are an example of the company's unique approach to sports facility expansion joint treatment - innovative materials technologies combined with an integrated role of owners, designers, general contractors, manufacturers and subcontractors. The EMSEAL approach is grounded in an integrated, collaborative process centered on joint treatment that requires all of these parties to think, design, detail, specify, construct, fabricate and install three-dimensional solutions. The result is a trouble-free system of expansion joints at three noteworthy structures to complete NY's "Triple Play" of outdoor professional sports venues.
EMSEAL, established in 1959 and located in the U.S. since 1979, has provided sealant systems and technical support to many prominent structures including stadiums, arenas, hospitals, parking structures, airports, malls and other commercial and public sector developments.
In addition to the three New York area stadiums, EMSEAL expansion joints and sealants were used in The Empire State Building, Lincoln Center, American Airlines Arena in Miami, the CN Tower Toronto, Watergate Hotel, Greensboro, N.C. Coliseum, Houston Intercontinental Airport, the Pentagon, Nordstrom's Stores, FedEx Field Washington Redskins Stadium, Citizens Bank Philadelphia Phillies Ballpark, California Polytechnic and the Atlantic Station in Atlanta.
EMSEAL operates out of two large factories - its headquarters in Westborough, Mass. and its manufacturing plant in Toronto, Canada.
For more information about EMSEAL, contact EMSEAL at techinfo@emseal.com, call 508-836-0280 / 800-526-8365 in North America, or visit the EMSEAL website at www.emseal.com
