A major sports city district with a striking riverside stadium at its heart will be built in Rotterdam, after the city council approved the project following a public meeting yesterday (11 May). Designed by architecture studio OMA, the development will include a new intricately clad 63,000 seat stadium for Dutch Eredivisie club Feyenoord Rotterdam, located on the River Maas. At the core of the masterplan is The Strip, an 800m

A hotel, residential apartments and a training academy have been incorporated into Southend United FC’s proposal to build a 22,000-capacity stadium development. The Populous-designed structure will see the hotel and apartments integrated into the stadium, with a number of the latter built along the stadium roofscape. Training academy facilities will be be flanked by community pitches. A full-sized covered pitch and “elite player accommodation” have also been earmarked for the

The stadium being built for Tottenham Hotspur FC – which will be one of the largest in the UK – could be used to host eSports matches and events, according to the club’s executive director. Donna Cullen said that while the Premier League team would not currently consider launching an eSports franchise to compete, she did see an opportunity for the 61,000-capacity venue to host high-profile virtual reality sporting events.

Sports architecture practice Populous have completed the redevelopment of the Warner Stand at the world famous Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the owner of the ground, tasked the architects with designing a stand that delivers an enhanced spectator experience, hosts significantly upgraded facilities and “ensures Lord’s retains its competitive advantage as the premier and most prestigious ground in the world to play and watch international cricket.”

The committee hoping to bring the Olympic Games to Los Angeles in 2024 has released new renderings of Valley Sports Park – the district that would host several events at the tournament if the city’s bid is successful. In keeping with LA’s sustainability-first and low-risk pitch for the Games, the Valley Sports Park is comprised of temporary facilities combined with existing venues, both set against a backdrop of the Santa

Architecture studio Allied Works have drafted plans for an ambitious US$50m (£38.6m, €45.7m) upgrade for the stadium belonging to Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise the Portland Timbers. The privately financed project would see the capacity of Providence Park expanded by 4,000 and would add a 93-foot high covered structure to the east side of the stadium. Four new levels will be added to the expanded east side – three of

The government of Canada and Quebec municipality have each pledged to invest US$4.4m (€4m, £3.4m) for the construction of a large-scale aqua-gym complex in the town of Dolbeau-Mistassini, the government of which will fund the same amount. The facility will feature nn indoor waterpark, including a shallow pool, slides and water games; a six-corridor pool; two diving areas; a sauna; two mezzanines; and a gymnasium. "Cultural and recreational infrastructure helps

South Korean architecture studio Heerim Architects and Planners are reportedly in line to design Qatar’s 40,000-capacity Fifth Precinct Stadium, which will host matches up to the quarter-final stage at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. According to Reuters, the practice said in a stock exchange statement on Tuesday (25 April) that it has agreed a US$16.2m (€14.8m, £12.6m) design and engineering services contract for the project. A joint venture of Qatar’s

A team of engineers in Saudi Arabia has proposed how stadium seats in the near future could be made more sustainably using the fibres of palm trees. A five-member group from Al Faisal University submitted the plan as part of a regional innovation competition established by the Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, which is overseeing the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the country. The team’s method involves using

A new multi-purpose 5,000-capacity stadium is being built as part of a major redevelopment project for Melbourne Park – the home of the Australian Open tennis tournament. The show court and arena will be surrounded new, smaller developments, such as a cultural terrace, a function centre, a media centre and broadcast studios, and a central kitchen. The cluster of facilities makes up the third stage of the larger overall project,

A seemingly doomed plan to build one of the world's largest indoor ice rinks inside a huge New York armoury has been given a new lease of life after state governor Andrew Cuomo committed US$108m (€100.3m, £84.1m) to the project in his 2018 executive budget. Canadian hockey legend Mark Messier has been leading a consortium of investors attempting to get the project off the ground since 2012. However, their hopes

SHoP Architects have completed an extensive renovation of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on New York’s Long Island. The multi-purpose arena, which first opened in 1972, has hosted the likes of Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen over the years, as well as basketball and ice hockey fixtures, but gradually became outdated and was closed in 2015. SHoP were brought in to re-conceive the look and feel of the

German top flight football team Hertha Berlin has unveiled plans to develop a new 55,000-capacity stadium in the shadow of its current Olympiastadion home. After spending time reviewing 50 sites for the mooted venue, the club has identified a spot of land in the Olympiapark close to the 80,000-seat stadium where it currently hosts home matches. Werner Gegenbauer, the president of Hertha Berlin, said the stadium would be “privately financed”

US National Football League (NFL) franchise the Oakland Raiders are to relocate to Las Vegas, after other NFL owners voted yesterday (27 Match) to approve the controversial move to Nevada. The Raiders received 31 of 32 votes to approve the move, far above the minimum requirement of 24. It is now in a position to proceed with its ambitions to build a 65,000 capacity stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

The popularity of eSports competitions – in which opposing players compete at video games played online, often with thousands of digital spectators following the action – has grown at a huge rate in the last decade. Now sports architects Populous have revealed they are developing physical, purpose-built arenas in which the digital battles of the future can be hosted. Brian Mirakian, the director of the Populous’ Activate design agency in

Everton FC has moved a step closer to realising its ambition to build a new stadium after agreeing a financial package with the local authority. The Premier League football club has agreed terms with Peel Holdings to acquire the site in Liverpool’s Bramley Moore Dock – a deal brokered by the city’s mayor, Joe Anderson. A report will be presented to the council on 31 March recommending an arrangement that

Architect Margot Krasojevic has designed an ice rink facility on a Russian lake that will use the power of the sun and geothermal energy to keep the surface frozen all year round. The ‘Liquid Skating Photovoltaic Ice Skating Rink’ will be located high in the mountains of the Kamchatka peninsula – a popular tourist hotspot due to its volcanic terrain, nature reserves and hot springs. Krasojevic’s client, China Film House,

The soon-to-be-built 60,000-capacity Perth Stadium could be the centre point for a Commonwealth Games bid after the Western Australian city threw its hat into the ring to host the 2022 edition. According to reports in Australia, Western Australia’s new sports minister Mick Murray said a bid would be looked at “in depth”. He added that while there may be some challenges getting the financial package sorted out, it was a

Alberto Rolla, one of the architects behind the recently-constructed Juventus Stadium, has designed a 40,000-capacity venue for Serie A rival Fiorentina. The ground will be located in Florence and cost around €420m (£367.2m, US$448m) to build. Stadium seating will be tight, with fans in the front row seven metres from the pitch. The surrounding 48 hectare area will be developed to include a hotel, a shopping mall, public realm, 700

Italian Serie A football team Cagliari Calcio has inched closer to realising its ambition to build a new stadium after receiving a loan for its construction. The club has been provided the money by the local government and Sardinian financial institution Sfirs to build the 21,000-capacity stadium, which is being designed by Polish architect JSK Architekci. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Cagliari Calcio president Tommaso Giulini, the city’s

Edinburgh architecture practice Reiach and Hall have won the top prize at the UK’s Architect of the Year Awards, which took place at London’s ExCeL Centre yesterday evening (8 March). The studio – whose leisure work includes the National Centre Inverclyde and Aberdeen Sports Village – received the top Schueco Gold Award for a portfolio of recent work that “shows both creativity and flexibility”. Their 2016 projects include the Oriam

The early consequences of Britain voting to leave the European Union has increased the cost of Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium, according to the club’s director. In an email to a supporter published online, Donna Cullen said that Brexit had seen the final cost rocket to £800m (US$972.1m, €920.7m) – more than the cost of building the new Wembley Stadium. When the plans were originally revealed, the 61,000-capacity stadium was expected

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has given Chelsea FC the green light to build a new £500m (US$612.9m, €579.1m) stadium on the site of Stamford Bridge. Khan said he was satisfied with the 60,000-capacity stadium’s “high-quality and spectacular design”, which was approved by Hammersmith and Fulham Council in January. As part of Chelsea’s submission, the Premier League club has committed to investing £12m in community activities, such as employment

FC Barcelona is aiming to capitalise on the growing thirst for football in China by developing a training academy in the mould of its legendary La Masia in Haikou. The Spanish football giant has formed a partnership with Mission Hills Group, which builds golf resorts, to develop its 26th overseas academy. With seven pitches, the facility will be able to accommodate 1,000 boys and girls aged six to 18-years-old. For

AECOM, the architectural firm behind the Rio 2016 Olympic Park masterplan, has pledged to help the Brazilian government achieve its “legacy goals” despite the widely-publicised pictures showing the development damaged and desolate. Just a few months after the conclusion of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, images surfaced of a looted Maracana Stadium with unkempt pitch, a closed Deodoro sports precinct and a US$20m (£16.1m, €18.9m) golf course that is struggling

A joint venture between Canadian studios HCMA Architecture + Design and NFOE et Associés Architectes have won a design competition to create a striking circular aquatics centre in Laval, Quebec – designed to create an experience of “swimming within a forest.” The competition jury had called for submissions imagining the new Complexe Aquatique de Laval as a vital civic centre, subtly integrated into the site’s woodland ecosystem. Tucked into an

Serie A football club AS Roma has moved a step closer to achieving its own stadium after striking a deal with city officials. The Italian team has been trying to develop the 52,000-capacity Stadio Della Roma for a number of years, but has faced several delays. The delays were compounded when the anti-establishment Virginia Raggi of the 5-Star Movement became the city’s mayor last year and began pushing for design