Solent University, UK, has officially opened its new £28m sports and fitness centre. The centre houses two sports halls, three gyms and an indoor cycling studio. There are also two exercise studios, a physiotherapy treatment room and a dedicated basketball centre – one of only two of its kind in the UK. The university worked with Pulse Fitness on the design of the new facility, which is part of an

Milan-Cortina, which has been selected to host the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics Games, has revealed the events will aim for a low carbon footprint, with the majority of facilities used being existing. Milan-Cortina's bid received 47 out of a total of 82 votes cast by IOC members, with rival bid Stockholm-Åre receiving 34 votes, with one abstention. The bids from Milan and Stockholm were the first to be produced

London-based architecture practice Foster + Partners have revealed plans to create a community-centred boathouse and rowing facility in Washington Heights, New York. Commissioned by competitive rowing charity Row New York, the proposed timber-roofed building will comprise an array of classrooms, event spaces, and outdoor leisure areas – all of which be used for rowing-focused educational programmes. Using the sport as a facilitator for self-empowerment, the centre will also help its

Piscina & Wellness Barcelona (PWB) has launched an international contest for architecture students to conceptualise a new aquatic centre. According to the company, the future leisure facility will be designed for public bathing and will occupy a tract of land on Barcelona’s waterfront, between “Drassanes Quay and the Rambla del Mar of the Port Vell”. “The space includes a large area of water, thus providing the possibility of even imagining

Plans to redevelop the home stadium of soccer team Nottingham Forest in the UK have moved a step closer, after the Football League club was granted a new 250-year lease for the stadium site. The redevelopment forms part of the wider Nottingham Southside regeneration with £2bn of developments happening across a 0.5 square mile area. The changes represent are expected to bring thousands of jobs, millions of visitors and economic

Spanish firm Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos have revealed the first concept images of their latest project – a 260,000 sq m football complex in Dalian, China. The expansive campus will comprise 23 regulation-size pitches, a hotel, gardens, and a select number of short-stay residential units. The US$297m (€264.7m, £235.8m) facility will also function as a training ground and academy for professional teams and youth clubs, including Dalian Yifang FC. Cruz

A focus on enabling customers to create Instagram moments has defined the design of the hotly anticipated Funan Mall by Singaporean property and investment group Capitaland, which will reopen to the public on 28 June. Situated in Singapore's Civic District, the revamped retail complex, which was restored by Capitaland for an estimated £320m (US$406.3m, €361.6m), features an array of leisure facilities, including a 200-metre indoor cycling path (a first for

The Coca-Cola Arena – a 17,000-capacity sports venue designed by global architecture practice Populous – has opened its doors in Dubai. Boasting an adaptable structure with an LED-clad façade, retractable seating, and a modular stage, the new facility also features over 35 dining outlets and 42 corporate suites. The building – said to be the Middle East's largest multi-purpose arena – is Populous' first project to be completed in the

HOK and Snow Kreilich Architects have unveiled their design for MLS4TheLou – the Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium proposed for St Louis, Missouri. The stadium will serve as the home of the as-yet-unnamed St Louis MLS soccer club. The new facility will feature a translucent ETFE canopy which will provide cover for fans and allow for well-lit spaces below. Light will pass through directly onto the field, helping game-day visibility

Architectural design and planning firm Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) and software company SAP have released their joint report on the future of esports design. According to their white paper, esports – the fastest growing industry in the entertainment sector – will soon require specially designed facilities to accommodate the unique needs of spectators and competitors. "As technology helps break down cultural barriers," reads the report, "esports are redefining fan

Spanish construction company FCC has won the competition to transform Real Madrid's 70-year-old Estadio Santiago Bernabéu into what the club's president, Florentino Pérez, has called a "digital stadium of the future". FCC, which is owned by Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, is expected to begin work on the facility immediately, with an anticipated completion date of August 2022. According to Cinco Dias, the contract is worth €475m (US$529.5m, £408.6m). The expanded

French design practice Marc Mimram have completed a new tennis court for the Stade Roland Garros in Paris. The 5,000-seat Court Simonne-Mathieu is flanked by four greenhouses to camouflage its bulk and ensure it blends in to the site, which is within the 120-year-old Serres d'Auteuil botanical gardens, adjacent to the main Roland Garros complex. The facility is named after the eponymous female tennis champion. The opening of the controversial

German architecture group von Gerkan, Marg, und Partner (gmp) have created a 41,000-seat stadium on the tropical island of Hainan in China. Situated minutes from the coast, Wuyuanhe Stadium is shaped to resemble ocean waves and features a 400-metre running track, lounge areas, and a top floor walkway with panoramic views of the sea. According to the architects, the sports complex – the first part of a district-wide urban regeneration

Construction work has begun on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Village – the largest infrastructure project directly related to the Games. The £520m development in Perry Barr will provide a home for around 6,500 athletes and officials during the Games and is due for completion in early 2022. Post games, the development will be converted into more than 1,400 homes, forming the first phase of a long-term regeneration plan for

George Foreman III – son of the heavyweight prizefighter – and Boston-based practice Studio Troika have designed the EverybodyFights boxing gym in Philadelphia. Situated in the city's Rittenhouse neighbourhood, the 12,000 sq ft (1,114 sq m) space comprises a full-size boxing ring, multiple classrooms, and an open gym area with free weights and cardio equipment. Other features include a steamroom, a yoga room, a sports shop, and custom graffiti created

American architecture studio LPA Design have created The Great Park Ice and FivePoint Arena – the largest ice skating facility in the state of California. Located in Irvine, the 280,000 sq ft (26,000 sq m) complex comprises an Olympic ice rink, three National Hockey League (NHL)-size rinks, a multipurpose arena, an amphitheatre, a gym, an artificial beach, and a selection of dining and retail amenities. Described by the American Society

Work has begun on the long-anticipated HK$30bn (US$3.2bn, €3.4bn, £2.9bn) Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong. Designed by global architecture practice Populous, the sprawling complex is expected to "set a new benchmark for sports, entertainment, and recreation precincts worldwide". The park will comprise 28-hectares of state-of-the-art facilities and leisure areas, including a 50,000-capacity stadium (dubbed the "Pearl of the Orient"), indoor and outdoor sports centres, a 40-lane bowling hub,

Architecture practice Ministry of Design (MOD) have completed Durasport – an interactive athletics retail boutique in Singapore. Situated at the recently renovated Jewel Changi Airport, the 183 sq m shop, with its chrome-finished, streamlined interiors, was designed to resemble a futuristic lab. According to the architects, the retail space was created to provide high-performance athletes, such as cyclists, mountaineers, and skiers, with personalised "experiential zones" where they can test and

Construction work is set to begin on a huge urban development in Saudi Arabia – described as one of the "world's ambitious building projects". NEOM, which has a total area of 26,500sq km (10,200 sq mi), is described as a smart tourist city in the northeast of Saudi Arabia, consisting of visitor attractions, cultural venues, sports facilities and vast residential areas. It is the flagship project of Saudi Arabia’s Vision

Final images of the 40,000-capacity Al Wakrah stadium – designed by the late Dame Zaha Hadid – have come to light. The expansive sports facility, which will host matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup first broke ground in 2014. It is the second tournament-ready stadium to be inaugurated after the Khalifa International Stadium opened to the public in 2017. Hadid reportedly shaped Al Wakrah to mirror the lateen sails

Architectural icon, Peter Cook, and his business partner, Gavin Robotham, co-founders of Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau (CRAB), have revealed they're working on an innovative fitness, sport and leisure project in Mumbai. Speaking in the latest issue of CLADmag, Cook said the new facility could represent the future of mixed-activity clubs. "The core of the building's central area runs through two floors and is surrounded on both by a series of

The government of Saudi Arabia has pledged to fund the construction of a US$1bn "sports city" close to the Iraqi capital city Baghdad. The announcement was made by the Saudi commerce and investment minister Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qassabi, following a visit by senior Saudi ministers to Baghdad last week. No details of the facilities have been revealed as yet, but it is believed that the project will include a number

Architecture practice Populous have teamed up with Comcast Spectacor and The Cordish Companies to create the Fusion Arena – a US$50m (€44.2m, £37.7m) competition venue for professional video game players. Set to rise at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, the 60,000 sq ft (5,574 sq m) arena will be able to accommodate up to 3,500 spectators and offer a slew of training facilities, studios, and streaming rooms for competitors. Fusion

The £1bn (US$1.3bn, €1.1bn) Tottenham Hotspur stadium – reportedly the largest club ground in London – has finally thrown open its doors to fans. Designed by global architecture firm Populous, the new attraction can accommodate over 62,000 people and features a 40-metre climbing wall, hotel, and multiple dining outlets. The structure, which took three years to complete, also has a retractable pitch with an astroturf field to host National Football

The first phase of construction on the Malley Sports Center – a 10,000-capacity complex taking shape in Lausanne, Switzerland is expected to wrap in August. Designed by Swiss architecture office Pont12, the multipurpose building will serve as a venue for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic games (YOG) and the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships, which will be held in 2021. Leisure facilities at Malley will include three ice rinks, a

Danish design firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have revealed the latest changes to their vision for the proposed Howard Terminal Ballpark in Oakland, California. Set to replace the Brutalist-style Oakland Coliseum, the new sports complex, which will be the home of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball (MLB) team, will have a circular instead of jewel box shape in order to "boost fans' experience". In a statement, Dave Kaval, president

Danish architecture firm 3XN have been tapped to build an as-yet-unnamed stadium in Munich's Olympic Park. Set to occupy the site of the recently demolished Radstadion velodrome – the arena will feature three canopied ice rinks and an oval-shaped green roof that merges with the surrounding park landscape. Landscape design for the al fresco space and the ground-level concourse will be carried out by Latz + Partner. Another notable element