Qingdao Youth Football Stadium – stadium description

How was a football stadium built in Qingdao?

In June 2019, China was selected to host the 2023 Asian Cup football tournament. At the end of the same year, a list of 10 cities to host the tournament matches was announced. Qingdao was also on this list. Although there were already several large stadiums in the city, including the 60,000-seat Qingdao Citizen Fitness Center built for the 2018 Shandong Provincial Games, for the Asian Cup it was decided to build a brand new, this time typically football arena.

The site for the new stadium was chosen about 25 km north of the city centre, near Qingdao Liuting Airport. Construction began on July 31, 2020, with a planned opening at the end of 2022. During the course of the work, the global COVID-19 pandemic was struggled with, due to which China dropped out of hosting the 2023 Asian Cup. The Qingdao stadium, with not much delay, was nevertheless completed.

On April 8, 2023, the stadium passed the inspection procedures. On April 13, the presentation of the Qingdao Hainiu team, which became the host of the new stadium, took place at the venue with the stands closed (the club was returning to the highest level of the competition in the 2023 season after a 10-year break). The inauguration of the new stadium took place on April 25, 2023, when Qingdao Hainiu played against Beijing Guoan (3:1) in their first home league match of the new season.

What are the characteristics of Qingdao Youth Football Stadium?

The design of Qingdao Youth Football Stadium can be seen on a separate subpage

The stadium has a football-like stand layout and can accommodate 50,000 spectators. The pitch of the venue has a hybrid surface and is equipped with a heating system. The stadium is the largest professional football-type venue in Shandong province. The arena meets FIFA's requirements for hosting top-level matches.

To ensure better visibility, the first rows of stands are slightly above the pitch. The auditorium is roughly divided into two sections, upper and lower, although there is also a narrow central strip with premium seating along the pitch. The main stand is located on the west side.

The upper levels of the stands along the pitch are separated from those behind the goals by narrow gaps in the corners. The edge of the stands gently undulates, matching the shape of the oval outline of the arena and reaching a height of over 30 m at the highest point.

The stands are made of reinforced concrete, while the roof and façade rest on a cable-supported steel truss structure. The façade is clad in bright, perforated panels and louvres. The façades are illuminated by LED lights to create striking animations at night.

The design of the stadium draws on the maritime scenery characteristic of Qingdao. The wavy lines running along the façade create kinks, giving the oval building a more interesting, original form that symbolises the 'jumping' waves of the sea, rhythmically moving up and down, and emphasises the modern, dynamic character of the city. The marine atmosphere is also directly alluded to by the white and blue colour scheme of the seats in the stands.

The roof of the stadium covers all the seats in the stands and is largely made of transparent ETFE panels. Under the canopy, two video screens have been suspended above the stands behind the goals. Floodlights were also embedded in the structure. The roof span in the north-south direction is 234 m and in the east-west direction 198 m. The maximum height of the building is 48.5 m.

From the outside, the stadium is encircled by a raised entrance platform. Together with the stadium, a multi-purpose training hall, a swimming training hall, as well as supporting infrastructure and 2,000 parking spaces have been built in the surrounding area.