Stadium construction is booming, with a huge number of impressive and expensive venues
currently under construction around the world.
Whether being built for major sporting events, or by clubs looking to maximise revenues
and improve fan experience, this new generation of stadiums are in a different league to their predecessors.
Here we hop around the globe to look at five of the most impressive stadiums currently under
construction and due to open their turnstiles by 2020.
We kick off our tour in Australia where a truly multi-purpose stadium is being built
for five different sports.
At a cost of $1BN USD, the 60,000 seater venue in Perth, will be the third largest stadium
in the country when it opens in 2018.
The stadium will primarily be a venue for sports played on an oval – namely cricket and Aussie rules football.
It is set to become the home for the city’s two AFL teams and local cricket team the Perth Scorchers.
It will also be Western Australia's primary venue for international cricket.
The stadium can also be reconfigured for sports played on a rectangular pitch, and will become
the city’s venue for major international rugby union, rugby league and football matches.
While a striking bronze façade reflects Western Australia's unique geology externally,
internally the stadium is very technologically advanced. There will be 4G WIFI coverage throughout,
while two giant 240 square meter video screens and 1,000 televisions will mean fans
never miss any of the action.
In London, Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur are building what they claim
“will be the finest stadium anywhere in the world” – and the $970M USD building certainly
looks set to be a spectacular venue for watching sport.
Designed by architect Populous, the 61,599 capacity stadium has an asymmetrical design,
which is focused towards its southern end. Here a single tier stand with a capacity of 17,500 is designed to
generate a ‘wall of sound’ and be the heartbeat of the new stadium.
Another multi-purpose venue, New White Hart Lane has a retractable natural turf pitch
that can be removed to reveal an AstroTurf pitch underneath, for American Football.
This innovation provides the preferred surface for both sports within the same stadium,
which is set to host two NFL regular-season games for the next ten years.
The venue incorporates a whole host of unique facilities including a viewing deck on the roof of the stand,
a glazed tunnel that allows club members to watch players prepare to head out for kick-off,
and the UK’s longest bar stretching to 86.6 meters.
New White Hart Lane will also include the world’s first stadium micro-brewery with
a beer delivery system pouring up to 10,000 pints a minute.
In Budapest, Hungary a new national stadium is currently under construction.
Intended as a new home for the Hungarian National football team, the 67,889 seater venue is being built
within the bowl of the historic Ferenc Puskas Stadium.
The facades of the historic building are being incorporated into the much taller new stadium,
while 90% of the rubble from the demolition of its predecessor will be
reused in the new concrete structure.
By far the most intriguing design feature is the incorporation of a running track.
While this is not uncommon for stadiums, the location of this 800-meter circuit is truly unique,
perched above the stands with a panoramic view of Budapest.
Due to host four games at Euro 2020, construction of the $750M USD stadium has been delayed
and contractors are now working to complete the building before the tournament begins.
Perhaps more anticipated and more controversial than any of the other stadiums on our list is Japan’s
new National Stadium. Currently under construction ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo,
the stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies,
The $1.4BN USD project stands on the site of the previous national stadium that was
itself built for the 1964 Summer Olympic Games.
Designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the stadium replaced Zaha Hadid’s competition-winning
scheme that was controversially abandoned over its soaring cost.
The scaled down stadium will have a fixed capacity of 68,000, but will be expandable to 80,000
for football and rugby matches, with temporary seats placed over the athletics track.
Seating will be sheltered below a latticed larch and steel canopy while circulation areas around the exterior
of the stadium will feature plants and trees, linking the structure with surrounding parkland.
Topping our list is a stadium that is set to become the most expensive ever built.
With a price-tag of $2.6BN USD the Los Angeles Stadium, currently under construction in Inglewood,
California, promises to be the world’s most impressive sports venue ever conceived.
Designed by stadium specialist HKS Sports and Entertainment, the 70,000 seater stadium
will be the home to two NFL teams – the LA Rams and the LA Chargers.
The structure has been designed so that capacity can be increased to host more than 100,000
fans for major events such as the Superbowl, which is set to come to the venue in 2022.
The future Los Angeles Stadium is also being lined up to host the 2024 Olympics
and is the likely candidate to host the 2026 World Cup Final
if the United States, Mexico and Canada’s bid to co-host the games is approved.
With new stadium’s now being built with increasing regularity, how long the Los Angeles Stadium
will remain as the most expensive and impressive in the world remains to be seen.
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