Qatar Unveils World Cup’s First ‘Reusable’ Stadium

Ras Abu Aboud Stadium

Qatar on Sunday unveiled the design for what it claims is the World Cup's first 'reusable' stadium, the seventh of eight expected venues that will stage games during the 2022 tournament.

Qatar unveiled the design for what it claims is the World Cup's first 'reusable' stadium, the seventh of eight expected venues that will stage games during the 2022 tournament

AFP report continues:

Ras Abu Aboud is a 40,000 seater stadium that will be built on Doha's southern waterfront and host matches up to the quarter-final stage.

After the tournament the stadium will be taken down, with the parts put in to containers in the hope it will be reassembled and used elsewhere.

"This venue offers the perfect legacy, capable of being reassembled in a new location in its entirety or built into numerous small sports or cultural venues," said Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary-general of Qatar's World Cup organizing committee.

Among the materials used in the construction of the stadium are modified shipping containers, according to a statement from Thawadi's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

The stadium should be completed by 2020, said the committee.

The architects are a Madrid-based company, Fenwick Iribarren, who were also chosen to design another tournament venue, the Qatar Foundation stadium.

Qatar has now revealed the designs for all venues expected to be used in 2022 except the Lusail Stadium, which will host the opening game and World Cup final.

Although Qatar's initial bid was for up to 12 stadiums, it is now scheduled to play matches at just eight venues.

FIFA is yet to make a final decision on the number of stadiums to be used during 2022.

Since controversially being chosen by FIFA to host the tournament in 2022, Qatar has found itself at the centre of a global storm.

It has been criticized over human rights and labour abuses and blighted by allegations of corruption.

Most recently it has found itself accused of supporting terrorism as part of a bitter dispute involving Doha and its Arabian Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain, as well as Egypt.

Thawadi said in Sunday's statement that the diplomatic crisis had not 'impacted' on Qatar's preparations for the World Cup.

Qatar's government has said it is spending US$500 million a week preparing for the World Cup.

Finance minister Ali Shareef al-Emadi told local media earlier this month that 65 per cent of all World Cup projects have been completed.

Earlier this year Qatar unveiled its first completed World Cup 2022 venue, the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, which will also be used to host the World Athletics Championships in two years' time.

Qatar Denies Gulf Crisis Is Hurting 2022 Build-Up As It Unveils Moveable Stadium

Press Association reports that the Gulf’s diplomatic crisis is not hurting Qatar 2022’s preparations, a senior Qatari official has claimed as the organizing committee revealed the design for the first demountable World Cup stadium.

The Ras Abu Aboud Stadium is the seventh of eight World Cup venue designs to be announced and the 40,000-seat ground will host games up to the quarter-final stage.

However, it is what might happen after the World Cup that is the most interesting aspect of this stadium as it can be taken down and reassembled elsewhere or even turned into smaller venues.

The design, which uses modified shipping containers as “modular building blocks”, has been drawn up by Fenwick Iribarren Architects, the Madrid-based firm behind Norway’s new National Stadium and another 2022 World Cup venue, the Qatar Foundation Stadium.

In a statement, senior partner Mark Fenwick said: “We are delighted to be part of another 2022 FIFA World Cup project and are very proud that our design for Ras Abu Aboud Stadium will go down in history as the first-ever moveable and reusable World Cup stadium.

“We are confident that this innovative and sustainable concept will be an inspiration for stadium developers and architects around the world, capable of creating aesthetically pleasing venues that offer new legacy possibilities.”

Located in an industrial district on Doha’s waterfront – a part of the Qatari capital where shipping containers are plentiful – the stadium is scheduled for completion in 2020.

This design announcement is the second to have come since several of Qatar’s neighbours cut off diplomatic ties and imposed trade and travel sanctions on the small but wealthy country in June – a move that raised doubts about its ability to complete the enormous construction project it has embarked on for the World Cup.

Qatar 2022’s organizing committee, however, has repeatedly dismissed these concerns and has pushed on with the work, despite a significant rise in costs.

In a statement, the chairman of the committee’s technical delivery office Hilal Jeham Al Kuwari said: “The launch of Ras Abu Aboud Stadium’s design comes three months after the design launch of Al Thumama Stadium and six months after the inauguration of Khalifa International Stadium following its renovation.

“This succession of positive announcements highlights the continued progress being made on all World Cup projects, which have not been impacted by the illegal blockade on the state of Qatar. All of our projects are progressing per schedule and will be delivered by their target completion dates.”