This record-breaking philosophy has even had a bearing on the angle at which the track was set and its positioning was relative to the prevailing winds and the rise and fall of the sun.

It was supported by ladder masts reaching 39 feet (12 m) above the top of the grandstand, the latter were painted yellow and gave the stadium its unmistakable appearance.

They also gave completely uninterrupted sight lines around the bowl although coverage from rain in the bottom half of the stand could be problematic.

The Don Valley Stadium, which cost £29 million, was the first entirely new outdoor national sporting venue built in Great Britain since Wembley in the early 1920s when it was completed in September 1990.

[8] It was built as the centre-piece of a £147 million construction programme needed to provide the necessary sports and cultural facilities to enable the city to host the 1991 Summer Universiade.

[9] Jan Železný threw 95.66 metres (104.62 yd) in the javelin on 29 August 1993 (which was a world record at the time) and infamously nearly hit the TV commentators who were interviewing close to the start/finish line.

[10] There were plans to use the stadium in a Sheffield bid for the 2002 Commonwealth Games (which eventually went to Manchester) and also to use it as a potential joint ground for the city's two football teams.

[13] There were questions raised about the agreement, and the Football League stipulated that the club was obligated to move back to Rotherham within four years.

The first match Rotherham United played at the Don Valley was a pre-season friendly game against Derby County on 19 July 2008.

[17] The stadium hosted BritBowl, the championship game of the British American Football Association Community Leagues in the United Kingdom between 1999 and 2007.

Since then, a number of famous artists have performed at the venue; Def Leppard played at the stadium on 6 June 1993, as part of their Adrenalize World Tour.

Michael Jackson performed a sell-out concert at the stadium on 9 July 1997, during his HIStory World Tour for an audience of 45,000 people.

In 2011, the Arctic Monkeys hosted a two-day comeback festival at the adjacent Don Valley grass bowl to celebrate the release of Suck It and See.

The band headlined and were supported on both days, by Miles Kane, The Vaccines, Dead Sons and Anna Calvi as well as local artists.

Reports emerged in January 2013 that Labour Sheffield City Council were considering demolishing the stadium as part of a money-saving exercise.

[22][23][24] The Liberal Democrat Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg opposed the stadium's closure, claiming the city council aimed to prevent the Save Don Valley Stadium group from obtaining central government grants in order to develop a business plan that would keep the venue open.

UKIP general secretary and Sheffield Branch chairman Jonathan Arnott commented that "there are so many examples of Council waste where cuts could and should be made without affecting local residents.

"[26] On 11 January 2013, Sheffield City Council announced that the stadium was to be closed and demolished as part of a £50 million budget-cutting measure.