Olympic Stadium of Nasiriyah – design description

What does the design for a new stadium on the outskirts of Nasiriyah entail?

The design of the new stadium, including the entire sports complex, to be built near Nasiriyah, the fourth largest city in Iraq, was prepared by the French studio Agence d'Architecture A.Bechu & Associés, in collaboration with Alain-Charles Perrot and Adil Alkenzawi.

Although the stadium has been described as 'Olympic', it is to receive a football-specific layout. The stands, with a capacity of 30,000 spectators, will surround the pitch on all sides, creating a rectangular form with rounded corners. The auditorium will be covered and, on the outside, the stands will be clad in a white façade with palm tree patterns.

The stadium is to be part of a new sports complex that will occupy a 55,000 m² site. In addition to the main stadium, there will be two small auxiliary stadiums, with stands for 2,000 and 500 spectators (the larger will receive an athletics track), as well as a sports hall, indoor swimming pool, hotel and car parks. The complex will be built about 15 km north of Nasiriyah's city center, away from dense urban development.

When will the Olympic Stadium in Nasiriyah be built?

French company sarl UR was appointed as the main contractor and construction began in April 2013, with the facility to be built in 2.5 years at a cost of 108.84 billion Iraqi dinars. The investment was funded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. However, construction encountered problems and was halted at the end of 2015 due to the financial crisis.

Work resumed in 2019, but an unstable security situation, street blockades, the COVID-19 pandemic and disagreements between the authorities and the contractor meant that progress this time was not significant. At the beginning of 2022, cooperation with the French contractor was broken off due to significant delays (at that time, estimated progress on the stadium was around 75%).