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Most consumers are not experts in seat design, yet they inherently know a good chair when they sit in one. For decades, sports fans, theatergoers and convention attendees accepted their fate to sit in an uncomfortable chair for several hours. Function beat out luxury for a long time. But as new technology and designs have been introduced, people have become more accustomed to (and even expect) the better side of seating.

Wider people, wider chairs?
Perhaps the most obvious change in seating has been the trend toward wider chairs. In cinema seating, for example, that translates to chairs that are 23-24 inches wide (measured from the middle of one arm rest to the next). Previously patrons were only given 19-20 inches to lounge in. And now that most armrests flip up, they can multiply their space exponentially.

There are plenty of theories as to why the demand for wider chairs has grown so significantly. One possible reason is that Americans’ waistlines have been expanding. It’s estimated that 60 percent of Americans are now considered overweight. “There’s no question that the super-sizing of America has translated into larger patrons and a need to accommodate those patrons,” says Bruce Cohen, managing director of Irwin Seating in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Craig Davis, marketing and communications manager for Hussey Seating Co., suspects there is a more subtle reason for the widening trend. “We’ve become more accustomed to comfort,” he says. “There is more design and thought put into car seats, office chairs, etcetera. They’ve raised awareness of what constitutes a comfortable seat. Combine that with technological advances in seating and there’s a whole new market out there. That’s what’s driving the demand for width – it’s more about comfort and the experience.”

National Public Seating Corp., based in Clifton, New Jersey, has responded to the demand for comfort with folding chairs that are more ergonomically designed and have larger, squarer backs. The company has been in business since 1997, providing commercial-grade folding chairs to a variety of markets. “You wouldn’t use a folding chair for the main seating, but most facilities require some type of ancillary furniture,” says Barry Stauber, president of National Public Seating. And comfort is still a consideration for extra seating.

“What we’ve done to address that is come out with a blow-molded folding chair. The back is somewhat oversized and the seat is more ergonomic and curved for comfort,” he says. “Blow-molded plastic is an interesting material to make furniture out of. It’s hallow by definition, and as a result it gives and flexes yet is more durable and can be used indoors or out.”

Lake Bluff, Illinois-based Clarin has responded to the demand for roomier seats by providing wider, 20-inch chairs for their customers – primarily sports entertainment venues. “Our new VIP seating has thicker lumbar support and a larger seat. It’s used primarily for courtside seating, luxury seating and in skyboxes,” says Steve Lutazzi, senior vice president at Clarin.

Clarin was founded in 1925 and supplies portable seating to the sports and entertainment industries.

The wider seat trend, while it impacts just about every market, hasn’t quite hit the general seating section of l arger venues, though. Facility managers are still watching their bottom lines and don’t want to lose money-making seats in the process. So they’ve made seat width one of the differentiators between the general admission, club and suite level tickets.

Material Information
When he looks at the stadium seating market, Camatic’s Gary Knight sees changes in materials as the most significant trend. Camatic is an Australian-based manufacturer that has been in business for 40 years, mostly serving the cinema and stadium seating markets. “Historically, stadium seating was made of plastic seats and backs that were mounted to cast iron,” says Knight. “For the last 10 to 15 years, the trend has changed significantly to cast aluminum. The innovations in casting with aluminum have really changed the structural integrity and the look and versatility of seating.”

Camatic provides an aluminum beam-mounted system that allows for two points of attachment (versus the usual three), which improves installation and simplifies cleaning. The seats come completely assembled with the beam-mounted system and only have to be secured in place, whereas the older seats had to be put together with nuts, bolts and screws which were then exposed. “Now you have a nice, clean look to the seating and there’s no hardware to snag anything,” says Knight. “And the beam-mounted system is capable of featuring seats with a flip-up panel with an interactive screen that patrons can use to order food, watch replays or get online. Stadiums with VIP suites are increasingly taking advantage of that.”

There has been a lot of buzz about interactive seating in the market. However, it still hasn’t gained significant traction in the marketplace, says Hussey Seating’s Craig Davis. “In the next five years, you’ll see more of the interactive seating, whether it’s allowing users to plug in their own technology – PDAs and computers – or that the seats provide their own display,” he says.

Hussey Seating is a family-owned business that’s been around since 1835 and provides “just about every type of seating possible,” according to Davis. Hussey’s new Quatro collection uses cast aluminum because of its durability and aesthetic appeal. “The Quatro has a really comfortable foam seat, a plastic seat pan and they’re gorgeous to look at,” says Davis. “In the past, seats in public areas were not really meant to be scrutinized. They were there for functional reasons. Now the way facilities are being designed, there’s more emphasis on interior design.”

Springs are out
Spring-loaded seats will soon be a distant memory as facilities replace them with gravity seats.

“If you don’t have a gravity seat, you have an old system,” says Knight. “Gravity eliminates the need for springs. As long as we have gravity, they’ll work.”

Springs tend to make noise and will eventually fatigue and break, upping the maintenance costs of the chair. The counterbalance weight in a gravity seat eliminates the need for springs and the associated costs.

The Most Important “S”
Another market that has changed dramatically is fixed auditorium seating. What was once an afterthought has become a defining feature. “Twenty-some years ago when I first started selling cinema seating, owners wanted to cram as many seats as possible into their theaters. Comfort never was the first goal; seating quantity was,” says Bill Moore, director of sales at Greystone International in Byron Center, Michigan. “Now that trend is totally reversed.”

To achieve the “best seating,” auditorium owners are choosing seats that are taller, plusher and more elaborate. In response to the transformation in the market, Greystone now offers products it never would have 20 years ago. “Our seats are much bolder than what we’ve ever done,” says Moore.

According to Gary Knight, vice president of U.S. sales and marketing for Camatic Seating, the flip-up arms that were once considered innovative and distinctive, are almost a requirement for theaters today. “What used to be a novelty is now a standard product,” he says.

Moore has witnessed an increased demand for premium seating from other markets like home theater owners and college lecture halls. “All of these areas are beginning to move away from the standard kind of chair,” says Moore. “We’re talking about a commercial product, but that does not mean it cannot be comfortable and first class in every manner.”

In all seating verticals, that emphasis on design will only continue as facilities look to differentiate themselves from the pack. And as new venues are built, no doubt the bar will only continue to rise in comfort and design. Facility managers will have to work to balance the demand for comfort with the desire to make the most of site capacity.

Stacey Closser is a freelance writer in Dallas, TX.

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