Liverpool FC’s plans to increase capacity of the club’s Anfield Stadium by around 13,000 seats have been given the green light by Liverpool City Council (LCC). LCC’s planning committee met earlier today (23 September and resolved to grant planning permission for the expansion of the Main Stand by 8,300 seats and the Anfield Road Stand by 4,800. Construction will begin next year for completion by the 2016-17 season and will

Skateboarders in London’s South Bank Undercroft have won their 17-month battle to keep the space under Queen Elizabeth Hall designated for skateboarding, BMX riding, graffiti and urban activities. On 18 September, details of a binding agreement between the Long Live Southbank campaign, the Southbank Centre and Lambeth Council were released; meaning that both parties will withdraw from further legal action and the site will remain open, free of charge, for

The 2014 Asian Games began today (19 September) at South Korea’s Incheon Asiad Main Stadium with a colourful opening ceremony being staged at the 70,000-seat arena. From now until 4 October, almost 10,000 athletes from 45 countries will compete in 439 events across 36 sports and disciplines. Both the opening and closing ceremony, plus all of the athletics events, will be staged in the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium, which has

It’s no secret that athletes are said to have a ‘home-game advantage’, but how do teams combat the sometimes negative effects of ‘playing away’? Nike and design consultancy Teague have come up with a solution. In order to minimise the effect of air travel and changing time zones on sportsmen and women, Teague and Nike have conceptualised a new form of transport for athletes, ensuring their performance is top notch,

A development group led by tennis coach Judy Murray, mother of star Andy Murray, has been dealt a blow after a prominent member of Stirling Council’s planning office said that it could not support plans for the creation of the Park of Keir sporting hub in Scotland. Led by Murray and the King Group, the project is also backed by her son Andy and former Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie,

A hotel dedicated to cyclists has opened in Onomichi – a coastal city in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan – allowing guests to check in while still on their bikes. Masterminded by Suppose Design Office, this new hotel is the first of its kind in Japan. Constructed in a renovated warehouse along the Onomichi waterfront, ‘Hotel Cycle’ offers guests a five-star experience for their bikes, and a chance to relax and unwind

Queens Park Rangers Football Club (QPR) is to launch a consultation on its plans to build a new 40,000-seat stadium on land at Old Oak in West London. As well as a new stadium, the plans include the regeneration hundreds of acres of brownfield land, opening the way for thousands of new homes and jobs to be delivered with easy access to the planned Crossrail/HS2 interchange. The English Premier League

Prominent architectural design firm 360 Architecture is to be acquired by fellow practice HOK, with the US-based group looking to expand its footprint in the sports sector. Founded in Kansas City, US, 360 Architecture is known for its award-winning designs of stadiums, ballparks, arenas, recreation and wellness centres, plus mixed-use entertainment districts. The firm has also won competitions to design corporate facilities, commercial office spaces and government-led projects. “As a

The Indian government has awarded Afghanistan's cricket board a US$1m grant toward the creation of a new cricket stadium in Aino Mena, Kandahar – a southern province of the country. Exact facility details or the final cost of the stadium are yet to be decided and the project is still in its “fund-raising phase”. It is understood that the venue – to be named Kandahar Cricket Stadium will act as

Designed by Tim Greatrex, the new House of Vans Park entertainment hub has opened to the public after over a year of work. Located in the tunnels under London's Waterloo Station, the 30,000sq ft (9,144sq m) venue will showcase an art gallery, a VansLab artist incubator space, cinema, live music venue, café and bars, gifting suite, plus a skater built and designed concrete bowl, mini ramp and street course. Two

Plans have been announced to convert a section of canal in the heart of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, into a wave simulator to be home to surfing, kayaking, scuba diving and a host of other aquatic sports and activities. The artificial river RiF010 – being built by Waveloch at a cost of €3.3m (US$4.4m, £2.6m) will be able to generate a 1.5m (4.9ft) wave while creating naturally-purified water inside the canal

Nike has unveiled the world's first LED basketball court in Shanghai, China, a facility that has been created for basketball star Kobe Bryant to help train young players in Shanghai as part of Nike’s RISE campaign. The court – dubbed the ‘House of Mamba’ – features all over LED flooring; bringing graphics, video and real-time player tracking to training. Using motion sensors to enable tracking and interactive visualisations, players will

Long-held plans for the creation of the £315m (US$525m, €392m) Circuit of Wales racetrack have been boosted after its backers signed a five-year deal to host motorcycling’s British MotoGP event at the venue. The track, which is yet to be constructed, will become a purpose-built hub for the British motorsport industry, catering for major events, while also developing into a centre for motorsport-related industries. The deal with commercial rights owner

A final approval is expected later this year for proposals to build a new 14,000-capacity multi-use arena in Tampere, Finland. The planned Tampere Central Arena will be the new home for the city’s two professional ice hockey teams – Ilves and Tappara – and the flexible design will also allow the venue to host other sporting events as well as concerts and exhibitions. It is expected that the €124m (US$166m,

A shortlist of architects has now been established for the Green Square Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia. The centre will form part of the commercial, retail and cultural heart of the AU$8bn (US$7.5bn, €5.6bn, £4.4bn) greater Green Square redevelopment – one of the largest ever urban renewal project in Australian history. The five finalists are all from Sydney – Andrew Burns; Cullinan Ivanov Partnership; CHROFI & McGregor Coxall; Andrew Burges

Mocked up for his project called ‘The Art of Diving,' Bulgarian-based designer Kristian Terziev has designed a new diving centre-cum-public space to showcase diving to the world. The centre, which would be located in the Bulgarian coastal city of Tsarevo, is space to reflect on the themes of water sports whilst being in close proximity to the ocean. As a working diving centre, the project allows divers to benefit from

Final designs have been revealed for the planned new 60,000-capacity sports stadium in Perth, Australia. The bid to design the venue was won by a team featuring architects Cox Architecture, Hassell and HKS Sports and Entertainment Group. Cox Architecture director Alastair Richardson and Hassell director Peter Lee will act as joint principal architects. The multi-purpose stadium will be the new home to Aussie rules clubs Fremantle and West Coast Eagles

Leinster Rugby and The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) will undertake a €20m redevelopment of the RDS Arena in Dublin, increasing the venue’s capacity from 18,500 to 25,000. Following the work the stadium – which hosts all Leinster’s Pro12 and Heineken Cup home games – is expected to be included in Ireland’s bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The venue is also home to the RDS’ annual Dublin Horse

Despite Germany’s attempt at crushing Brazil’s spirits in the 2014 Fifa World Cup, the nation's love of football has not been completely kicked to the wayside as plans have been unveiled for the world’s first Football Entertainment Centre to be built in Rio De Janeiro, allowing Brazil’s football legacy and love affair with the beautiful game, to continue. To be constructed in the form of a giant football which will

Facilities management and construction services provider Carillion has been named preferred bidder for the expansion works at Liverpool Football Club’s (LFC) Anfield stadium. The work will include increasing capacity at Anfield’s Main Stand by 8,000, taking overall capacity to more than 54,000. Carillion will also be responsible for the associated public realm improvements. Work on the project is expected to start later in 2014, subject to planning consent. It is

A progressive 20,000-capacity stadium has opened as the centrepiece of an environmentally focused regeneration project in the Hungarian city of Debrecen. Created by Bord Architectural Studio, the redesigned Nagyerdo Stadium has seen the introduction of a leading sporting venue into an area usually characterised by green space and forests. The project has been designed to bring the green-space area in-line with the city, giving people access to a multi-purpose events

Chelsea Football Club has named Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands (LDS) as lead architects to explore how the club can increase stadium capacity at Stamford Bridge. The London-based architectural firm will carry out a feasibility study to review different improvement options for the home of Chelsea, such as installing decking over the railway line to the east and north of the stadium. Chelsea previously looked at moving away from the area, with

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia has ordered the construction of 11 new 'world-class' sports stadia in the country. According to local reports, the stadiums will be built in the provinces of Madinah, Al-Qassim, Asir, Tabuk, Hail, Jazan, Najran, Baha and Al-Jouf while there will also be venues for the Northern Border Region and Eastern Province. The regions have been chosen as they currently have limited facilities to host

Russian football club FC Dynamo Moscow will be given a new home once the VTB Arena is completed in 2016, with the stadium being created as part of a progressive VTB Arena Park project in the Russian capital. Designed by Manica Architecture, the 33,000-capacity stadium is part of an overall US$1.5bn (€1.1bn, £884m) development to create a leading sporting venue alongside an expansive leisure area five miles from the city’s

Quebec City’s new hockey arena is starting to take shape as hockey fans prepare for a September 2015 opening – but only if arena officials can find an NHL franchise to call it home. The CA$400m (US$372.3, €273.3m, £219.3m) multi-use indoor arena, which will be mainly used for hockey, will have a capacity of 18,482 and is being built with the view of a relocated or expansion NHL franchise to

An upcoming arena development in Copenhagen has finally been given a name after the Royal Arena in Denmark was christened following a long-term sponsorship agreement with beer makers Royal Unibrew. Work on the arena – which is being built at a cost of €134m (US$182m, £107m) and will seat up to 15,000 people – is progressing on schedule with an expected completion date of Q3 2016. The agreement between Royal

The Golden State Warriors are set for a return to San Francisco, US from nearby Oakland after the basketball team’s new 18,000-seat arena is completed in 2018. Originally planned to be located on Pier 30-32 along the San Francisco Bay waterfront, locals criticised the site over traffic and environmental concern. On 19 April 2014, the Warriors abandoned plans for the pier site and purchased a site in the Mission Bay