Football and rugby in Europe are played during the autumn and winter months, in the early afternoon. This means that the sun is low in the sky and mov- ing from south-south-west to west. An ideal orien- tation for the playing area is to have its longitudinal axis running north–south, or perhaps northwest– southeast. With these orientations the sun will be at the side of the stadium during play, and the early morning sun will fall on the greatest area of the pitch, thus helping any frost in the ground to thaw before play commences. Figure 3.3 summarizes the situation.