British architecture practice FaulknerBrowns have been selected to design a £50m (US$64m, €54.3m) indoor sports centre for the University of Portsmouth. The building, to be situated on the University's campus in Ravelin Park, will feature an eight-lane swimming pool, a fitness suite, a sports hall, a climbing wall and squash courts, in addition to spaces for exhibitions and social and community events. While further design details have not been revealed

Details of the latest proposed stadium for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar have been officially revealed, with a design inspired by the traditional Arab ‘gahfiya’ headdress. The Al Thumama Stadium – conceived by Qatari architect Ibrahim M. Jaidah from Arab Engineering Bureau, Qatar’s oldest design firm – will seat 40,000 fans in 2022, with the capacity reduced to 20,000 in ‘legacy mode’ after the tournament. The gahfiya, as

Thailand-based architecture and engineering practice Chiangmai Life Construction (CLC) have developed a net zero sports hall made entirely from bamboo, earth and stone. Panyaden International School in the city of Chiang Mai required a larger assembly space and an indoor sports facility protecting students from the elements in both the wet and dry seasons. CLC had previously designed the school’s other buildings, using rammed earth building methods and layered bamboo

Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza has completed a semi-transparent sports hall for a university in Madrid. Designed for the campus of the Francisco de Vitoria University in the Pozuelo municipality, the white steel and concrete facility is formed of two well-defined boxes, connected by a low-rise building whose roof becomes an inter-connecting patio. Sports halls, multi-purpose event spaces, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and physiotherapy rooms all feature, with the

Italian Serie A football team Atalanta has purchased its home stadium from the local authority and revealed its intention of redeveloping the antiquated venue. A contract between the football club and the Municipality of Bergamo has been agreed for the for the sum of €8.6m (£7.8m, US$10.1m), plus a further €2.3m (£2.1m, US$2.7m) or improvement works that were carried out in 2015. Further work will be done in the shape

Thunderous sound effects, dramatic strobe lighting and enormous and exuberant video projections are welcoming players to the field at the new stadium of Russian football club FC Krasnodar, which has installed a 4,700sq m media screen along the top tier of the bowl. International architects Gerkan, Marg & Partners (gmp) and Russian design firm Maxim Rymar Architectural Studio designed the 33,979 capacity ground, which is raised on a plinth slightly

An exclusive hotel anchoring a new sports and leisure district in Green Bay, Wisconsin, opened on Wednesday (19 July). Lodge Kohler is one component of Titletown, the 34 acre district being developed by US National Football League (NFL) franchise the Green Bay Packers. Designed by developer Kohler Co’s in-house design team, the hotel has 134 bedrooms, 10 suites and views of the Packers' 81,400-capacity Lambeau Field. It is also the

US architecture firm Gensler has designed a stadium for Major League Soccer (MLS) hopeful North Carolina Football Club – one of a number of football-specific projects the studio is working on. The football club has earmarked downtown Raleigh as the location for the stadium. The development will include a conference space, office, hospitality and retail space, housing and public parking. “This is an important step in our pursuit of a

The Prosper Independent School District (IDS) just north of Dallas has unveiled plans for a US$48m (€41.5m, £37m) 12,000 capacity stadium and attached natatorium, set to open in 2019. According to the project's architect, Huckabee, the stadium will feature split level seating for the home-side; a two-storey press box; press, scouting and community rooms; and restaurant facilities. The turf is suitable for both competitive American football and soccer, with paved

Stadiums of the future may include permanent residential facilities and places of work if they adopt an innovative, community-focused vision put forward by Populous. The architectural practice behind the Olympic Stadiums in Sydney and London has imagined the ‘Stadium of Tomorrow’ for the July issue of National Geographic magazine. Part of the vision includes making stadiums “seven days a week, 365 days a year” venues, with residential and office facilities

A ‘southern gourmet’-style restaurant inspired by the Grammy-winning Zac Brown Band, and a barbershop owned by rapper and activist Killer Mike will be part of the “transformed” Philips Arena – home to NBA franchise the Atlanta Hawks. Country music legend Zac Brown – the lead singer of the eponymous band – has helped to design the Zac Brown Social Club, which will treat fans to a “fully-immersive” dining experience that

Dutch design agency NorthernLight has completed the design phase for the redevelopment of Sochi’s Olympic Village, which is turning its former media centre from the 2014 Winter Olympics into a science and art park. Connecting science and art, the unique addition is the “crossover of an art biennale and science gallery”, according to NorthernLight. With 40,000sq m (430,500sq ft) of exhibition space, the Sirius Art and Science Park will develop

US National Football League (NFL) franchise the Atlanta Falcons has released a new video showing the final stages of construction work on their US$1.5bn (€1.3bn, £1.1bn) stadium. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium, designed by sports architects HOK, is scheduled to officially open on 26 August for a Falcons preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. The video, filmed in May, shows construction workers adding the finishing touches to the structure’s unique eight-petal plastic

Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise DC United has secured a US$25m (£19.3m, €22m) funding package to make its soon-to-be-built new stadium more energy efficient. The package has been agreed with the mayor of Washington DC Muriel Bowser and the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). Funding will go towards the installation of energy efficient equipment at the 20,000-capacity Audi Field venue, such as 884kw solar panels and stormwater retention system.

David Beckham’s plans to launch a glamorous new Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise in Miami have taken a major step forward, with the county’s board of commissioners agreeing to sell a 2.8 acre plot of land he needs to build a stadium. Miami Beckham United (MBU), the consortium representing the footballing icon, has paid over US$9m (€7.9m, £7m) for the land in Miami’s Overtown neighbourhood and said it is “looking

HOK’s sport and recreation division has been recognised for its sustainability credentials, being nominated for a Sports Humanitarian of the Year award. The Kansas-based architecture practice finds itself in the Corporate Community Impact Award category of the third edition of the ceremony, which is organised by sports broadcaster ESPN. Among the achievements it is being recognised for is its design of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which is the first-ever

Meis Architects, the studio behind the soon-to-be-constructed AS Roma stadium, has unveiled renderings of a 25,000-capacity stadium being designed for Major League Soccer (MLS) hopeful FC Cincinnati. The plans were unveiled by Dan Meis – founder of Meis Architects – and club owner Carl Lindner III in front of 600 FC Cincinnati season ticket holders. Three sites have been earmarked for the stadium: Oakley, Newport and West End. However, no

HOK has been selected to design the first-ever multi-purpose arena on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island – an 18,000-capacity sport and entertainment venue. The flexible Yas Arena can be transformed from an 18,000-capacity venue to an intimate 500-seat theatre depending on the nature of the event it is hosting. Sporting events, concerts, conventions and community gatherings are expected to take place at the arena. As well as standard seating, the arena

Members of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) – the owner of Lord’s Cricket Ground – will be asked if they would be content for a “large-scale” residential development to be built within the venue to fund redevelopment projects. The question will be posed as part of a review carried out by MCC to see if there is appetite for the ground’s Nursery End to be revamped. Two development options have

London’s Oval is set to become the largest cricket ground in the UK as a result of an ambitious redevelopment plan. Surrey County Cricket Club, the occupier of the venue, is submitting plans that would see the ground’s capacity increase to 40,000 – larger than the 30,000-seat Lord’s Cricket Ground. The club already has planning permission for a large development next to the Pavilion, named 1 Oval Square, which will

Global sports architects HOK have collaborated with four international rugby players to discuss what is needed in the rugby stadiums of the future. John Rhodes, a director of the practice’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment division, met with Jamie Roberts of Wales, Tim Visser of Scotland, James Horwill of Australia and Danny Care of England to learn from their experiences as players and fans. HOK has released the conversation and

World-renowned chefs the Roux family will create fine dining experiences for spectators at Tottenham Hotspur’s new-look White Hart Lane stadium when it opens next year. While football fans in Britain are accustomed to enjoying a pie and a pint of beer during a game, Tottenham wants to offer a rather more high-end alternative for those with deep pockets and an appetite for the finer things in life. For 12 matches

Footballer Lionel Messi has inspired a new theme park in China, which will have over 20 multimedia attractions dedicated to the FC Barcelona star. A consortium of developers, including China’s Phoenix Group and Spanish conglomerate Mediapro, are backing the Messi Experience Park in Nanjing – described as “a unique global experience” that will allow visitors “to immerse themselves in all things Messi”. The park will utilise virtual and augmented reality

Los Angeles FC, the Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise co-owned by Hollywood actor Will Ferrell, has unveiled plans to spend US$30m (£23.5m, €26.8m) on a new training facility. The facility will be built on the campus of California State University, and will be the third most expensive in MLS history following the US$60m (£46.9m, €53.6m) investments made my Atlanta United and Real Salt Lake in their respective training centres. Designed

Work is underway on a vast new riverside sports park in Cork, Ireland, which will surround the city’s regenerated Páirc Uí Chaoimh Gaelic games stadium. Demolition has begun to clear space for phase one of Marina Park – a €20m development created around the stadium and the adjoining agricultural Munster Showgrounds. The phase one masterplan published by the city council is focused on the area to the west of the

Danish practice AART Architects have won an international design competition to create Denmark’s Rowing Stadium; a new venue for both the public and elite athletes that will be situated on Bagsværd Lake, outside of Copenhagen. The concept behind the studio’s winning design – which will be surrounded by water and forest on all sides – is that the “classical disciplines of rowing intersect with other forms of leisure.” “It is

Representatives of footballing icon David Beckham have unveiled the latest version of the stadium the former England captain wants to build as a home for his new franchise in Miami, Florida. Tim Leiweke, one of the investors behind Miami Beckham United, spoke to local politicians and residents at a Town Hall meeting last Wednesday (17 May) in Overtown, the neighbourhood where Beckham wants to locate the stadium. According to the