Armed with a heat gun, Global News Edmonton chief meteorologist Jesse Beyer visited nearly every inch of Commonwealth Stadium to see how the temperature changes depending on where you sit.
He visited the stadium on Tuesday, June 19 at 8:00 p.m.
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Seat colour matters
In the upper level of the west facing stands, Jesse tested a green and yellow seat. They were side by side, an inch apart. The yellow seat’s reading was 45 C, while the darker seat was 55 C, a 10 degree difference.
“The biggest reason has to do with what’s called ‘albedo,'” Jesse said. “This terms refers to how much of the incoming solar radiation (insolation) a surface will absorb or reflect. It’s largely based on colour. Fresh snow has a very high albedo, reflecting nearly 95 per cent of the insolation. Fresh asphalt can absorb that percentage.”
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No surprise, shade wins
Still in the west facing stands, Jesse tested the seats that had some shade. The temperature dropped to 26 C.
On the east side of the stadium, the seats in the shade were 23 C. This is Jesse’s pick for the best seat of the house.
“If you’re out of the sun, you’ll be the coolest. But the ‘coolest place’ would be the east facing side as it’s in the shade the earliest. Plus, you’re not looking into the sun, and the field will be lit for the best view,” he said.
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Toasty turf
Down on field level where the players are on the green artificial turf, the temperature reading is 35 C.
“The players have it pretty bad. That dark surface really absorbs the suns energy; plus, they’re doing all the physical work,” Jesse said.
“But I’d have to say the people on the sidelines may be on an even hotter surface. The green painted concrete where the cheerleaders perform actually was reading 10 C hotter than the turf.”