Stadium of the Year 2021

Stadium of the Year 2021 - popular vote is open!

Popular Vote

The 12th edition of Stadium of the Year, the largest and longest-running open poll dedicated to sports architecture, is already behind us. Our aim was to select the best stadium to open in 2021.

At midnight [CET], on March 14, 2022, we closed the voting platform. A total of 12,873 valid votes were cast, thank you for your participation!

Complete results:

PlacePhotoData
1 41,415 pts
pts
Estadio El Sadar

Estadio El Sadar Pamplona Spain Spain

  • team: Club Atlético Osasuna
  • capacity: 23,516
  • construction time: 06/2019 - 03/2021
  • cost: €23.3 million
  • design: OFS Architects
2 13,207 pts
pts
Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades

Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades Santiago del Estero Argentina Argentina

  • team: CA Central Córdoba
  • capacity: 30,000
  • construction time: 18/06/2018 - 15/05/2020
  • cost: ARS 1.5 billion
  • design: Enrique Lombardi
3 13,174 pts
pts
Estadio Banco Guayaquil

Estadio Banco Guayaquil Quito Ecuador Ecuador

  • team: Independiente del Valle
  • capacity: 12,000
  • construction time: 10/2020 – 02/2021
  • cost: $18 mln
  • design: Design 3 International, Ekron Construcciones
4 10,057 pts
pts
Stadionul Steaua

Stadionul Steaua Bucharest Romania Romania

  • team: CSA Steaua
  • capacity: 31,350
  • construction time: 02/2019 - 11/2020
  • cost: €94.7 million
  • design: Graphic Studio, Popp & Asociații
5 8,840 pts
pts
Europa-Park Stadion

Europa-Park Stadion Freiburg Germany Germany

  • team: Sport-Club Freiburg
  • capacity: 34,700
  • construction time: 11/2018 - 2021
  • cost: €76.5 million
  • design: HPP Architekten
6 8,825 pts
pts
Morodok Techo National Stadium

Morodok Techo National Stadium Phnom Penh Cambodia Cambodia

  • team: -
  • capacity: 60,000
  • construction time: 04/04/2017 - 16/08/2021
  • cost: CNY 1.1 billion
  • design: IPPR International Engineering Corporation
7 8,123 pts
pts
Al Thumama Stadium

Al Thumama Stadium Doha Qatar Qatar

  • team: -
  • capacity: 40,000
  • construction time: 01/03/2017 - 2021
  • cost: $342 million
  • design: Ibrahim M. Jaidah (Arab Engineering Bureau), Fenwick Iribarren Architects, Heerim Architects
8 7,802 pts
pts
Al Bayt Stadium

Al Bayt Stadium Al Khor Qatar Qatar

  • team: -
  • capacity: 60,000
  • construction time: 09/2015 - 2019
  • cost: €770 million
  • design: Albert Speer & Partner GmbH, Dar Al-Handasah
9 7,436 pts
pts
Stade Omnisport Paul Biya

Stade Omnisport Paul Biya Yaoundé Cameroon Cameroon

  • team: -
  • capacity: 60,000
  • construction time: 07/03/2017 - 2022
  • cost: €240 million
  • design: Eloy Suarez
10 6,983 pts
pts
Lower.com Field

Lower.com Field Columbus USA USA

  • team: Columbus Crew
  • capacity: 20,011
  • construction time: 10/10/2019 - 29/06/2021
  • cost: $313,9 million
  • design: HNTB
11 6,027 pts
pts
Yeni Ordu Stadyumu

Yeni Ordu Stadyumu Ordu Turkey Turkey

  • team: Orduspor 1967, 52 Orduspor FK
  • capacity: 20,000
  • construction time: 07/2017 - 2021
  • cost: TRY 162 million
  • design: Alper Aksoy Architects
12 5,682 pts
pts
New American Legion Memorial Stadium

New American Legion Memorial Stadium Charlotte USA USA

  • team: Charlotte Independence
  • capacity: 10,500
  • construction time: 20/09/2019 - 23/06/2021
  • cost: $40.5 million
  • design: Jenkins-Peer Architects, HOK Architects Corporation
13 5,484 pts
pts
Yeni Hatay Stadyumu

Yeni Hatay Stadyumu Antakya Turkey Turkey

  • team: Atakaş Hatayspor
  • capacity: 25,000
  • construction time: 2016 - 2021
  • cost: TRY 142.9 million
  • design: Alper Aksoy Architects & Erdem Dokuzer
14 5,466 pts
pts
Wild Horse Pass Stadium

Wild Horse Pass Stadium Chandler USA USA

  • team: Phoenix Rising FC
  • capacity: 10,000
  • construction time: 09/2020 - 04/2021
  • cost: ?
  • design: Odell Associates
15 5,442 pts
pts
Çotanak Stadyumu

Çotanak Stadyumu Giresun Turkey Turkey

  • team: Giresun Spor Klübü
  • capacity: 22,028
  • construction time: 11/11/2016 - 12/2020
  • cost: TRY 153 million
  • design: Bora Soykut, Azaksu Mimarlik
16 5,355 pts
pts
Yeni Adana Stadyumu

Yeni Adana Stadyumu Adana Turkey Turkey

  • team: Adana Spor Kulübü, Adana Demir Spor Kulübü
  • capacity: 33,543
  • construction time: 2014 - 2020
  • cost: TRY 140 million
  • design: DB Architects
17 5,315 pts
pts
Al-Madina Stadium

Al-Madina Stadium Baghdad Iraq Iraq

  • team: -
  • capacity: 32,000
  • construction time: 02/07/2012 - 18/12/2019
  • cost: $100 million
  • design: Nurol İnşaat, Global Sport IQ
18 4,878 pts
pts
Stade Olympique d'Oran

Stade Olympique d'Oran Oran Algeria Algeria

  • team: MC Oran
  • capacity: 40,143
  • construction time: 01/06/2010 - 06/2021
  • cost: $222.3 million
  • design: ATSP, DVVD
19 4,788 pts
pts
Stadium 974

Stadium 974 Doha Qatar Qatar

  • team: -
  • capacity: 40,000
  • construction time: 01/11/2019 - 11/2021
  • cost: ?
  • design: Fenwick Iribarren Architects
20 4,774 pts
pts
Alsancak Mustafa Denizli Stadyumu

Alsancak Mustafa Denizli Stadyumu Izmir Turkey Turkey

  • team: Altay
  • capacity: 15,000
  • construction time: 09/09/2017 - 11/2021
  • cost: TRY 130 million
  • design: Alper Aksoy Mimarlik
21 4,730 pts
pts
TQL Stadium

TQL Stadium Cincinnati USA USA

  • team: FC Cincinnati
  • capacity: 26,000
  • construction time: 18/12/2018 - 06/03/2021
  • cost: $250 million
  • design: Populous, Elevar
22 4,729 pts
pts
Protective Stadium

Protective Stadium Birmingham USA USA

  • team: UAB Blazers, Birmingham Legion FC
  • capacity: 45,000
  • construction time: 2020 - 2021
  • cost: $188 million
  • design: Populous, Goodwyn Mills Cawood
23 4,563 pts
pts
Q2 Stadium

Q2 Stadium Austin USA USA

  • team: Austin FC
  • capacity: 20,738
  • construction time: 09/09/2019 - 05/2021
  • cost: $260 million
  • design: Gensler

Stadium of the Year Regulations

  1. Voting schedule: Your votes will be accepted starting February 15, until midnight on March 14, 2021 (Central-European Time). The above form is the only means of voting, please do not send e-mails or private messages with votes, they will not be included. Each person is entitled to cast one vote, selecting your top 5 venues (giving them 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point, respectively).
  2. Voting restrictions: Every user is welcome to share information or links regarding the competition, however voting may not be subject to commercial incentives (i.e. being rewarded for voting or subject to separate contests with prizes). Any such attempts will result in cancellation of all votes coming from identified sources. Similarily, individual voters attempting to give more than one vote will not be included in the voting process at all. Because of such precautions you may find that multiple votes from on WiFi network could not be cast.
  3. Nomination process schedule: Jan 13 – Feb 2, 2022. (nomination period closed)
  4. Submitting nominations: Every User of StadiumDB.com may submit a nomination. Unlike many competitions, ours is user-oriented, so we don’t require any fees, costly text messages, e-mail submissions, liking us on facebook, following on Twitter or on Instagram (we do appreciate it, though!).
  5. Nomination requirements: To be eligible, a stadium has to meet several criteria. It has to hold at least 10,000 people and be opened in 2021. Usually this means having all sections opened to the public, but due to 2021's COVID-19 lockdowns we also allow venues opened without fans. Stadiums built from scratch are taken into consideration, as well as those that have undergone a thorough redevelopment. The competition is focused on football stadiums, which means we choose between venues that are capable of hosting a football (or soccer, if you prefer) game. They may still have running, cycling or speedway tracks around their pitch, or have pitches larger than football-specific ones (like cricket, hurling or AFL). However, football use has to be taken in mind.