How to Calculate Seating Capacity for Bleachers

Determining seating capacity for sporting events is easy when an arena or stadium has seat-back chairs. The number of seats equals the capacity. But bleachers have no set parameters; a row may seat seven grown-ups or make room for six grown-ups and four children just as easily. Using calculations provided here, a reasonable amount of space is assumed for each spectator, giving a general idea of how many people of any size can attend an event that is filled to capacity.

Things You'll Need

  • Calculator
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Instructions

    • 1

      Count the number of rows of bleachers from top to bottom. This is the first number in your calculation. In the formula (R)ows x (L)ength x (I)nches / (P)ersonal space, this number comes first. For our purposes, we have 20 rows:

      20 x L x I / P = Capacity

    • 2

      Find the length of the section of seating. This is easy on a football field as the yard markers act as a ruler of sorts. Each yard is three feet. In a basketball arena, it may be necessary to physically measure the length of one section of bleacher to get the baseline. This number (expressed in feet) is L. For this exercise, L = 10 feet.

      20 x 10 x I / P = Capacity

    • 3

      I is always the same. There are 12 inches in a foot, so I will always equal 12 (assuming you've broken down yards into feet to represent 'L' in a football situation). Now we have:

      20 x 10 x 12 / P = Capacity

    • 4

      P is the somewhat tricky part. Some bleacher companies suggest allotting 18 inches of personal real estate to each spectator. Others prefer to give each person a full two feet: 24 inches. For the sake of comfort, we'll use the larger number.

      20 x 10 x 12 / 24 = Capacity

    • 5

      Do the math, step by step:

      20 x 10 x 12 / 24 = Capacity

      20 x 10 = 200 feet of bleachers: (200 x 12) / 24 = Capacity

      200 x 12 = 2,400 inches of bleachers: 2,400 / 24 = Capacity

      2,400 / 24 = 100 spectators in your bleachers

      Capacity = 100