The Lusail Stadium, the last of the eight stadiums whose design has been unveiled by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) to host 2022 FIFA World Cup, will embody Qatar’s ambition and passion for sharing Arab culture with the world. The stadium is located in Lusail, 15km north of central Doha.
Once the 2022 FIFA World Cup is over, the stadium will be transformed into a community space including schools, shops, cafes, sporting facilities and health clinics.
This multi-purpose community hub will allow people to find everything they need under one roof — the original roof of the football stadium.
Lusail Stadium project manager Engineer Tamim El Abed said given the limited population of Qatar with only 3mn citizens and residents living together, there is no need to have eight stadiums with a capacity of 400,000 seats.
This why the seats will be reduced after the World Cup in all stadiums, including the Lusail Stadium, which its huge space would be re-engineered and transformed into community amenities serving the Qatari community in a meaningful way, as well as donating many removable stadium seats to benefit from the development of sports projects around the world..
In an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), El Abed said that converting the 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium after the Qatar World Cup is not a waste of public money, especially after years of working on a stadium that will be an engineering masterpiece.
He added economic sustainability suggests that it is better for future generations to re-engineer the huge space inside the stadium to accommodate different social amenities, in view of the availability of alternative distinct stadiums across the country.
El Abed said the design of Lusail Stadium takes into account the idea of transforming it into a community facility, adding most facilities to be available in the stadium was preliminarily agreed upon, including the establishment of a school on the west side of the stadium starting from the ground floor to the third floor, health clinics in the eastern part of the stadium and residential units distributed on all floors especially after the second floor, as well as providing spaces for shops and entertainment for children.
Lusail Stadium, which is 75m above the ground, is scheduled to host seven to nine matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar.
In addition to the opening and final games of the World Cup, it will host six or seven other World Cup matches as well as matches of all tournament rounds regardless of the final number of World Cup teams.
Lusail is a pioneer among cities. Every aspect of its planning, from tram system and plentiful green spaces to this sustainability-focused arena, concentrates on human needs and environmental conservation.
Lusail Stadium, in Qatar’s city of the future, has a fittingly futuristic design.
Its bold shape is based upon bowls and other vessels used across the Middle East for centuries.
The stadium project manager said the design of this magnificent stadium is inspired by the interplay of light and shadow that characterises the fanar lantern.
Its shape and facade echo the intricate decorative motifs on bowls and other vessels found across the Arab world and in museums and art galleries globally.
Crowning the elaborate stadium facade will be a roof made from materials carefully chosen to provide shade, while still admitting just the right amount of sunlight to nourish the first-rate playing surface within, El Abed said.
At night, an advanced lighting system will maximise the interaction of the light and openings in the facade, mimicking the welcoming glow of a fanar lantern for approaching fans, he added.
Sustainability work started the moment Lusail Stadium was first envisaged and its location was chosen.
Its position means fans can travel to matches via upgraded roads, the Doha Metro, shuttle buses from surrounding park and ride sites and even by foot — all suitably green methods of transport for this city of tomorrow.
El Abed said as the venue that will host both the opening and final matches of the Middle East’s first FIFA World Cup, this stadium will inevitably secure a special place in the hearts of people in the region.
Another legacy will be granted to the projects receiving the many modular seats that will be removed and donated after the tournament.
Those seats, where fans will have witnessed FIFA World Cup history, will live on in several other stadiums, widening access to sport across the world, he added.
After most of the seats have been removed from Lusail Stadium, a remarkable transformation will take place, he said, adding the remaining seating rows in the upper tier will be cleverly integrated into terraces and other public spaces. “Keeping these seats and the roof of the stadium intact will supply a constant reminder of this place’s glorious sporting history.”
El Abed said the stadium employs sustainable building practices and recycle construction waste whenever possible. “Recycled water will be used to irrigate plants around the stadium, which will all be local varieties requiring little water.
Installing efficient water fixtures and leak detection systems throughout the stadium complex conserves 40% more fresh water than conventional stadiums.”
Even the arena’s roof has been designed with the environment in mind, he said, pointing out that a state-of-the-art material will allow enough light in for pitch growth while providing shade to reduce the burden on the stadium’s air-conditioning.
The construction work at the stadium is progressing rapidly, and Qatar’s vision for the 2022 FIFA World Cup final will soon become a reality.
El Abed stressed that the work is in full swing in the project according to the schedule as the venue is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020, where the concrete structure was completed by nearly 100%.
He said that the works of substrates and services buried under the ground have been completed as well as the completion of over 30% of the steel work of the structure of the stadium, and the completion of prefabricated standings by 50%.
El Abed added that the project is committed to health and safety standards in dealing with workers and the requirements of the laws of the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs are adopted during the ongoing work in the project, which currently includes 4,600 workers, pointing out that the work is carried out over the full day (24 hours, eight-hour shifts), and six days a week, with 20mn hours of work done so far with only minor injuries, all of which are first degree, requiring regular treatment at the event site only.
El Abed considers that the workers’ welfare is a joint journey between SC and the private sector, especially that the file of workers’ welfare is one of the top priorities of the committee.
He added that the supervision starts from the tender stage submitted by the institutions and companies that implement the construction work, where the conditions include the conditions of compliance with the standards of workers’ care as a key factor in the acceptance of the company’s tender file or rejection of non-eligibility.
The project manager explained that the transport plan to be adopted at the stadium is based mainly on studying the number of spectators expected to arrive at the stadium and the places they are coming from, adding that there is a sophisticated network of roads within the city of Lusail, which is connected to Al Khor highway, the new Lusail tunnel, in addition to the subway which will be ready to transport spectators from all over Doha to the site of the stadium.
El Abed pointed out that the transportation plan will aim to keep private cars as far as possible from the stadium because 80,000 spectators, as well as 10,000 senior visitors, media workers, and volunteers will make it 90,000 people a day in each game, which is not suitable for the presence of private cars with long paths for fans who want to watch the games. Therefore, six large sites will be allocated for car parking in the vicinity of the stadium at a distance that doesn’t exceed 3km, after that the fans will be transported by bus.
El Abed further added that the stadium includes 153 electronic gates spread over 33 main entrances across the entire perimeter of the stadium.
Computer generated images of the Lusail Stadium.
