Stade de Marrakech – stadium description

Built some 11km from the centre of Marrakech this stadium stands in a rather deserted area. With few landmarks around it seems almost like an ancient fort and that’s not a coincidence. The form was supposed to refer to fortifications on one hand and to local architecture in general. That’s why massive elements dominate, geometrical forms give it rhythm and the colours are all natural, from white to brown. The vision of Morrocan-Italian design team was criticized however for the resemblance this ground has to Stadio Luigi Ferraris created by the same architects in Italy.

Marrakech Stadium was opened in January 2011 after a stunning period of over 7 years under construction. Initially it was planned to be opened long before that date. But since it’s finally opened, many events started coming to the city, to name just the national teams clashes. The major day-to-day tenant is Kawkab, a local football team that hardly draws crowds of the stadium’s size. And the size literally is huge as fans are situated extremely far from the pitch. Not only do they sit behind the athletics track and significant warm-up space and a deep moat, many seats are even further than in other venues because this stadium has rectangular shape instead of elliptical. This is why seats around corners are almost always empty.