Grand Stade de Marrakech – design description

How does Grand Stade de Marrakech look like?

Grand Stade de Marrakech was inaugurated in early 2011. The facility is located on the northern outskirts of Marrakech, about 10 km from the center. It is the main stadium in the city, and the football team Kawkab Marrakech, two-time champion of Morocco (1958, 1992), plays its matches there.

The stadium was designed by the architectural studio of renowned Italian architect Vittorio Gregotti, together with local practice Sâd Benkirane. The building contains many interesting elements and refers to the local architecture, although it is not difficult to see the resemblance to one of Gregotti's previous works, Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa.

Unique in the world, though not necessarily an advantage, is the arrangement of the stands on a rectangular plan despite the fact that the stadium has an athletics track. As a result, the auditorium is far removed from the field, especially near the corners.

How did plans for the redevelopment of Grand Stade de Marrakech come about?

On September 27, 2023, Morocco was announced as the host of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, and on October 4, 2023, the candidacy of Spain, Portugal and Morocco (along with three South American countries, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, to hold one game each) won the bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

Grand Stade de Marrakech is to host matches in both the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup.

Due to the hosting of major tournaments (especially the World Cup), the Marrakech stadium is to undergo redevelopment. Renovations are to take place in two phases, with the first starting in early 2024 and expected to be completed before the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, followed by a second phase planned to last until 2028. A new train station is also to be built next to the stadium by 2028.

A similar redevelopment of Grand Stade de Marrakech (involving the removal of the athletics track) was already proposed for Morocco's unsuccessful bid to host the 2026 World Cup.

What do the plans for the reconstruction of Grand Stade de Marrakech assume?

The main idea of the reconstruction is to eliminate the athletics track, lower the pitch by 6 meters and build additional stands in the lower part, which will bring the audience closer to the pitch. A major intervention will also be the addition of new sections of the roof on the inside, so that the canopy will cover the entire auditorium, including the new segments of the stands.

The first official rendering showing the possible appearance of the stadium after the reconstruction did not appear until late July 2024, on the occasion of the publication of the bid of Morocco, Spain and Portugal to host the 2030 World Cup (bid book). The author of the concept is Sâd Benkirane, the same studio that worked on the original design of this stadium.

According to preliminary information, the capacity of the stadium after the reconstruction is expected to be 45,860 spectators, which is not much more than before the work began, although it seems that in view of the significant expansion of the stands, the final figure may turn out to be higher.

Ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, work is expected to take place primarily related to interior renovations and changes to the stadium's surroundings. The main part of the project, the conversion of the stadium into a football-specific facility, will be carried out in the second phase.