Analysis of the emergency shelter function of Large-Scale International sports event venues

• Sports venues' critical role as emergency shelters is analyzed using major disaster cases (e.g., COVID-19, Wenchuan earthquake). • Advantages and challenges are identified in dual-use design, life support, and emergency management for sports venues. • A hybrid methodology combining multi-case study with AHP-fuzzy logic is introduced to evaluate shelter suitability. • Actionable recommendations are provided to optimize emergency plans for venue designers, operators, and policymakers. This paper conducts an in-depth analysis of the characteristics and insights of large-scale international sports event venues in terms of their emergency shelter functions. It initially underscores the significance of sports venues as urban public facilities in emergency shelters, especially during major disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Wenchuan earthquake, where they played a crucial role in disaster avoidance and epidemic response. The paper then discusses the advantages and challenges of sports venues in terms of disaster-peaceful integration design strategies, provision of life support facilities, and the challenges faced. The research employs a multi-case study approach, utilizing literature reviews, historical information, and post-disaster emergency management data analysis, and applies the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and fuzzy logic weighting methods to assess the suitability and efficiency of venues as shelters. The findings reveal that large sports venues generally perform well in post-disaster shelter conditions, particularly excelling in seismic performance and secondary disaster defense capabilities, but also highlight areas for improvement in terms of capacity and environmental comfort. Finally, the paper proposes recommendations for enhancing capacity, improving environmental comfort, strengthening secondary disaster defense capabilities, and optimizing information dissemination and emergency management capabilities. These suggestions aim to provide decision support for designers, operators, and policymakers of sports event venues, in order to optimize emergency management plans and enhance their responsiveness in emergency situations.