StadiumDBNews: October 2012
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Warsaw: National Stadium to get out of the red in 2015?
Surely no sooner, but even 2015 is just a loose estimate given by Sports Minister Joanna Mucha. According to her, for at least one more year the ground will still be a construction site, even if most of it is already operable.
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South Africa: Durban stadium's finances disclosed
For the first time Durban municipality revealed the finances behind Moses Mabhida Stadium's operations. And it's all red since 2010 with no prospect for improvement until as late as 2014-2015. Any good news, then? Yes, they're doing much worse in Cape Town...
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Canada: Historical urinal, anyone?
Pieces of the pitch or goalposts are a frequent item when old stadiums are being made to souvenirs. But giant screen, pitch lighting or urinal troughs – that's not something fans usually buy for souvenirs. Or is it?
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Edinburgh: National rugby stadium to get naming rights deal?
The country’s largest venue may get a new name as Scottish Rugby Union aim at finding a good deal for Murrayfield’s naming rights, the BBC reports.
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Canada: Obstructed views latest problem at Investors Group Field?
People who already bought their season tickets for some upper tier seats are receiving large discounts or offers of relocation. It turns out that one cannot see the sidelines from parts of the stadium, Winnipeg Sun reveals.
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Brazil: Yet another stadium in Rio!
After new Maracana and the Olympic stadium it's time for Vasco da Gama football club. Their new venue is to hold 43,000 people and will be ready in 2015 or 2016, Associated Press reports.
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New design: Hardturm
Was to be ready for Euro 2008, but new football stadium for Zurich still exists only on paper. This week we found out how it should look when ready. When would that be? No sooner than 2017.
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South Africa: Durban stadium needs a tenant
Brand new Moses Mabhida Stadium was built for the 2010 World Cup just next to the existing Kings Park. But to date it stands empty most of the time, while its older neighbour gets most of the events. City authorities are hoping to change that – Independent Online reports.
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New country: Albania
With our last, 25th new country in recent weeks, we return to Europe, where we started from in September. This time to the most important Balkan country that our database lacked before. Welcome to Albania!
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England: Chief Constable resigns after Hillsborough cover-up accusations
It's been years since first public accusations were raised against him, but only now, forced by his superiors, he resigned. Sir Norman Bettison assures he will assist the investigators to prove he didn't work on pushing the blame on fans after Hillsborough disaster.
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New construction: New Earthquakes Stadium
They started with an earthquake or close to it with their record-breaking groundbreaking attendance. Over 6,000 people came to start the work, but as much fun as this must have been, there's some serious construction work to do if they are to have a new 18,000-seater in 2014.
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New country: Syria
Though now overwhelmed by war, Syrian cities were the ones we missed very much in our database and decided to change it. With newest photos dating back to one year before the war, let's see Syria at peace and hope this is how the country will look soon.
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Warsaw: Prime Minister reveals findings after postponed England match
Scandal behind the postponed Poland-England game ends with an anticlimax. Internal audit in Ministry of Sports and National Sports Centre reveals that “everyone lacked determination”, but no-one is really guilty of 58,000 people being left out in the rain.
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Lyon: Works start on new stadium, again
It's already the second time Olympique celebrate preparatory works at their new site outside Lyon. First time it ended with initial preparations only, this time preparations are to be done for good, allowing construction to commence at last.
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England: All police officers connected to Hillsborough disaster to be checked
Independent Police Complaint Commission received names of 1,444 police officers who either were at Hillsborough on April 15 1989, or have been involved in investigation afterwards.
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Indonesia: Jakarta to get a modern football stadium
Thought they already have a large national stadium, the city's largest club should get a ground of their own – claims Governor of Jakarta as he announces a major sports project for the capital.
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Germany: Last stand in Essen ahead of schedule
As early as in February should the southern stand be ready in Essen, 6 months ahead of schedule. This is the good news. Bad news is that fans will most likely not be able to use it until next season anyway...
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New country: Lebanon
We're almost at our goal of 25 new countries. Now we stay for a day in Lebanon where the recently renovated stadiums stand out from the crowd. Sometimes literally, like the ground sticking out to the sea...
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USA: Man in critical condition after falling from escalator at MetLife Stadium
Third reported accident that includes falling from a significant height at MLS games this season. This time at NY's MetLife Stadium, where man fell 30 feet down from an escalator and was transported to hospital in critical condition, New York Post reports.
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San Jose: Record-breaking groundbreaking
This won't be just one symbolic shovel into the ground. No way, San Jose Earthquakes are going global with a record of over 5,000 people starting work on the new stadium on Sunday. And make no mistake, they don't mean construction workers – everyone's invited!
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New countries: Jordan and Iraq
None of them is associated with football too much. So wrong! Both Iraq and Jordan have quite some football traditions and passion for the game, pictured with our first doses of stadia from those lands.
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England: Ticket prices breaking new records
And not the kind of records supporters would wish to see. First time ever average price for the cheapest seats in top four leagues (!) exceeded £20. That means ticket prices in England are rising at 4 times the speed of inflation – BBC Sport alarms.
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Paris: Parc des Princes renovation to start in November
Works financed by Paris municipality are expected to start within a month. Next year the Qatari owners are to take over and start their redevelopment. Still, the stadium won't reach its desired capacity in time for Euro 2016.
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Australia: Waiter bringing food to your seat?
Yesterday's Victory-Adelaide game was the first to have waiters delivering meals ordered with smartphone application from the stands. If seen as a success, the service may grow, Herald Sun reveals.
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Lille: Investor furious over naming rights failure
Isidore Partouche claims he is even willing to completely withdraw from financing Lille OSC (he owns 40% shares) if his naming rights offer isn't treated seriously. He demands a reasonable approach from the municipality who own the new ground.
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Poland: Scandal after rain paralyzed new national stadium
It wasn’t a storm, it wasn’t a downpour. It was regular rainfall that proved enough to paralyze one of Europe’s most modern stadiums. A series of wrong decisions or misinformation led to Poland-England qualifier being postponed.
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London: Still no decision over Olympic Stadium
Though it was expected yesterday, final decision over the 80,000-seater’s legacy is yet to be announced. West Ham is still the most likely bidder, but their solution for bringing fans closer to the pitch will most likely be scrapped, Guardian reports.
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Liverpool: Decision reached, LFC stay put!
No new stadium in Stanley Park, at least for The Reds. Managing director Ian Ayre announced that the club are staying at their 'spiritual home' with plans of a major redevelopment being at early stage.
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New country: Oman
Welcome to the Middle East. Our first country is one that doesn't get much attention football-wise. This doesn't mean Oman didn't deserve a mention with its growing sports facilities...
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London: Olympic Stadium misses out on Stirling Prize
Modest science lab instead of the giant stadium in East London – this was the selection of British Architects' institute with the 2012 Stirling Prize. Olympic Stadium has to settle for being shortlisted.
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London: Tottenham moving to Wembley or Olympic Stadium?
This kind of move is being discussed with both the FA and LLDC. North London team might be forced to find a replacement if they decide to speed up their new stadium project, Daily Mail informs.
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New country: Kenya
And we’re leaving Africa, but with a bang. Largest stadium from one of the most important countries is our venue no. 1350. Its redevelopment has just ended two weeks ago. Done, of course, by the Chinese…
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Hungary: Government proposes new national stadium
And up to 10 other sports venues around it. This extensive complex would be built in the place or in the vicinity of current Ferenc Puskas Stadium in Budapest. With 65,000 seats the new stadium may become one of the best in Europe.
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Poland: Euro 2012 venue bans… bananas
Gdansk’s new PGE Arena is the only stadium in Poland and surely a rare case worldwide, where a specific ban on bananas has been introduced. To make it even more interesting, it’s said to prevent racism in the stands. Sport.pl reports.
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Brazil: Will FIFA avoid ‘ghost viewers’?
It seems impossible to get rid of, but FIFA attempts to minimize it. And by ‘it’ we mean ghost viewers – with tickets sold, but left unused. Number of such spots may reach several thousand per game.
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New countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique
When someone mentions South Africa, you obviously think of the Republic. Quite rightly, but these stadiums show that there’s more to see than just RSA if you’re southbound…
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Italy: Lecce supporters launch unique stadium tours
With help from their club and other parties, supporters trust Noi Lecce ran their first “Visit the stadium” initiative last Friday, inviting youngest fans for a visit like no other, noilecce.it informs.
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Russia: Rostov to create a new heart for 2018
Today the pulse of Rostov beats on the north bank of river Don. But with the new stadium planned to become first major project on the other side, authorities are hopeful to put some life into the almost pristine land.
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Newcastle: Historical name returns, down with Sports Direct Arena
Who would have thought that supporters will win their beloved name St. James’ Park by a naming rights deal? New 4-year contract with Wonga guarantees that the ground will return to its 120-year-old name. BBC reports.
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Italy: Roma confirm plans for new stadium
Though supporters would probably prefer actions over words, at least the latter are still reassuring. The club is said to have shortlisted three locations and chosen the architects for their new venue, Associated Press reports.
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New countries: Equatorial Guinea and Gabon
Those may be among the smallest and least populated countries of Africa, but they also are among the richest in their region. Still, getting shiny new stadiums was possible thanks to Chinese ‘friendship’.
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Qatar: First stadium construction to start in 2013
Education City Stadium will be the first among Qatar’s 2022 World Cup venues to get under way. But this doesn’t mean other projects aren’t going forward, according to ArabianBusiness.com.
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Athens: Panathinaikos has to forget big dreams?
New 42,000-seater may never happen for the Greek powerhouse. Future stadium for ‘The Greens’ is to be downscaled significantly, enough to lose highest category by UEFA’s standards.
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New countries: Gambia, Mali and Burkina Faso
Today three national stadiums from western Africa get their first presentations as we start our journey throughout that continent. Even if the sound exotic, it’s surely worth checking out where did Mali earn their 27th spot in FIFA rankings.
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Norway: National stadium awaiting redevelopment
Today Ullevål in Oslo has three stands with two tiers each and one that is significantly lower. This will change with that last one awaiting to grow and match the remaining three, Reuters reports.
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USA: Three new stadiums for MLS?
And each much anticipated with Washington and San Jose waiting for their first football-specific venues, while the MLS looks to give New York their second franchise.
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Russia: Samara looks for designers, stadium to cost $320 million
The southern city of Samara is to announce pre-design tender soon for their 44,000 stadium. Future 2018 World Cup arena is expected to cost $320 million and its location has changed since the bid book sent to FIFA.
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London: Orient hope name change will increase their chances for Olympic Stadium
Now Leyton Orient, the club’s owner Barry Hearn suggests it should be called London Orient to become part of the Olympic Legacy. Is this attempt to strengthen Orient’s bid a good one? Hearn intentionally ignores supporters’ sentiments on that issue.
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Netherlands: Euro 2000 venue not for sale – at least to the club
Dutch city of Arnhem is putting up Gelredome, their largest stadium, up for sale. It would seem natural that tenant club Vitesse is interested, but the football side cannot obtain their home venue due to a special clause.
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Switzerland: First game with legal pyrotechnics in November?
FC Zurich vs Servette – this may become a historical fixture no matter the score. If fans manage to get approval from police and fire dept, they’ll be allowed to light pyrotechnics legally first time in history. This is possible after Zurich passed new laws on the issue.
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Munich: TSV will finally manage to escape from Allianz Arena?
Though it’s been a few years since such plans were announced, TSV1860’s attempts haven’t succeeded so far. Now club asks Munich authorities for permission to build a new ground far from the disliked Allianz Arena.
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Albania: National stadium construction may start by November
There are still two permissions to obtain, but demolition of the existing stands and construction of the “black-red diamond” are expected to start within the next few weeks, as Gazetën Shqiptare reports.
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Singapore: Largest dome in history going up
With progress visible nearly every day, Singapore’s super dome for new national stadium will reach its final size in 2013. Despite lower capacity of the venue itself, the roof will overgrow any other stadium.
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Scotland: No football for a year at Hampden
Scottish national stadium at Hampden Park is to be closed for a year. During that year temporary running track will be installed and then dismantled as Glasgow is to host Commonwealth Games 2014.
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New country: Trinidad and Tobago
Sounds exotic? It may, since there aren’t many countries with shark as traditional meal. But it should also sound football-friendly with an 8-league system on those two small islands and two football world cups in just 10 years.
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Moscow: Worker falls to his death at Spartak’s stadium
With more and more works done at significant heights, risk is growing as well. Unfortunately, tragic accident happened at the Tushino construction site in Moscow today.
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London: Wimbledon coming home?
Second proposal to build a new ground for AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane has been submitted. In total there are three bids with only one ruling out the club’s return to its roots, as Wimbledon Guardian reports.
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Moscow: Construction at Spartak going well
Good news continue for Moscow’s Spartak stadium. The construction site received positive notes from Stroinadzor, the construction supervision body. This comes just two days after FIFA selected the ground for 2018 World Cup.
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Madrid: Real presented four finalists for Bernabeu revamp
During the General Assembly that has just ended in Madrid, four final concepts of the future Estadio Santiago Bernabeu were presented for public viewing. World's best architects will now await the selection of one of their works.
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Rotterdam: Feyenoord refuse to talk about 'saving De Kuip' any more
After last week's meeting between Feyenoord and “Save De Kuip” campaigners both sides seem to be further from convincing the others than they were before. The club announced they will not hold additional meetings about the campaign.
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New countries: Laos and Brunei
Our last stop in Asia – rural Laos and wealthy Brunei. Though they seem quite the opposite, it's Laos who has a modern national stadium, even if Brunei's is bigger.
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Germany: Record choreography in Hamburg
Supporters of HSV decided to celebrate their club's 125th anniversary in a unique way. With budget in excess of €70,000 they've managed to prepare 45,000 banners that created the largest tifo of its kind ever.
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USA: Minneapolis picks HKS Architects for their superstadium
Yet another American football venue with budget close to $ 1 billion. This time it's Minneapolis who plan to follow Dallas and Indianapolis as they appoint the same architects...
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