Haimen Sports Center Stadium – stadium description

When was Haimen Sports Centre built?

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Haimen Sports Complex took place on August 8, 2019. The complex is planned in the southwestern suburbs of Haimen, near the lake (Jiangong Lake) and the so-called Haimen Football Town. The city of Haimen is the capital of the district of the same name, which is part of the prefecture-level city of Nantong. Haimen is more than 30 km from the metropolitan centre.

The construction cost of the entire complex was 650 million yuan. The main contractor was Jiangsu Zhongnan Construction Industry Group Co., Ltd. The project was practically completed in late 2022 and early 2023. On March 18, 2023, the opening ceremony of the 18th Haimen District Games was held at the stadium of the complex, which was also the inauguration of the new Haimen Sports Center.

What are the characteristics of Haimen Sports Centre?

The new Haimen Sports Complex occupies a plot of land with a roughly rectangular shape, bounded on all sides by wide streets. The main elements comprising the complex are a multipurpose stadium with a capacity of 10,095 spectators and a sports hall with an auditorium for 3,049 people. The sports hall and stadium are connected to each other by an elevated platform, linking the surrounding promenades.

The southern part of the complex is occupied by a park with numerous paths, smaller buildings and street furniture. There are also car parks and additional playing fields within the compound.

What does Haimen Sports Centre stadium look like?

The stadium of Haimen Sports Centre complex has a multi-purpose character and is equipped with a 9-lane athletics track (10 tracks on the main straight) and a football pitch. The running track is surrounded on three sides by stands, leaving the south side open. Behind the southern curve runs a flyover providing continuity of the corridor encircling the stands. A large screen is set up in the central area.

The auditorium is fully covered and from the outside the stands are sheltered by a glass façade, also filling the gap between the upper edge of the stands and the roof. The stands along the pitch are taller than those on the north curve. The first row of the auditorium is on an elevated level. Under the roof, floodlights have been installed, which are supported by four masts standing outside the building.

The upper surface of the roof is enhanced by two strips of glass. Similar stripes are also located on the roof of the sports hall. They are intended to symbolise the waves on the surface of the water, spreading out in all directions when a drop falls. This fits in with the main theme of the complex, which is water. The water symbolism is meant to allude to Haimen's location, which is adjacent to large bodies of water – the Yangtze River and the East China Sea.

What is the function of Haimen Sports Centre?

The new sports centre was comprehensively designed and built completely from scratch, becoming the largest and most modern facility of its kind in Haimen District. With its green areas and numerous features, it is intended to serve the local residents on a daily basis for recreation, amateur sports and leisure activities.

The complex can be used for a variety of sporting and cultural events at regional level and beyond. The facility is used by, among others, the Nantong Haimen Kediyuan FC football club, which was promoted to China League Two (Level 3) in 2021.