How Are Arena Rigging Loads Calculated for Concert Tours?

The tour's rigging plot is the starting document: every hoist location, every load, every truss and bridle connection. I convert that plot into concentrated point loads applied to the roof structural model at the exact attachment coordinates, adding the weight of the house rigging steel, motors, and hardware that the tour's numbers sometimes omit. Dynamic amplification goes on anything that moves. The loads are then checked against member and connection capacity at each point — chord, purlin, connection, bridle — because arena roofs are governed by local effects. An averaged uniform load check would pass a roof that fails at a single overloaded connection.

The roof's rated rigging capacity — maximum allowable load per point or zone — is a documented engineering asset owned by the venue, established by the structural engineer of record. Every touring plot is checked against it before load-in, and the review produces a marked-up plot: approved points, required bridles, exclusion zones. When the roof structure is modified, the capacity documentation is reissued; when house rigging steel is added, it is rated too. Keeping this documentation current is what lets a venue say yes to the next tour quickly — the capacity is known, so the check is fast.

A rigging structural review is ready when it clears this checklist. The roof's integrity is the thing this list protects. • Tour rigging plot reviewed point by point against the roof's rated rigging capacity • Dynamic amplification applied to moving loads, flying systems, and hoisting operations • Local checks at each attachment: member, connection, and bridle capacity • Marked-up approved plot with required load-spreading and exclusion zones • House rigging steel inspected on schedule and capacity documentation kept current