SAIC Motor Pudong Arena – stadium description

In 2012, Shanghai SIPG Football Club (renamed Shanghai Port from 2021 due to the Football Association's order banning commercial references in club names) was promoted to the Chinese Super League for the first time. The team has rapidly established itself as one of the top teams in the country. The club is supported by a strong sponsor, Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), which operates the Shanghai port. So the decision was soon made to build a stadium that would become the new home for the rapidly growing club.

In 2017, an international competition for the design of the stadium was held, with HPP Architekten as the winner. The official construction ceremony took place on April 28, 2018. Shanghai Construction No.2 (Group) Co. Ltd. became the main contractor, while Schlaich Bergermann & Partner (sbp) was responsible for supervising the construction, as well as for the design and construction of the canopy structure. The contractor had three years to complete the construction, but thanks to the rapid progress of the works, the inauguration of the arena already took place on October 31, 2020. At the opening, the stadium, in the presence of 6,000 spectators, hosted the final of the prestigious e-sports competition, League of Legends World Championship. Shortly before the opening, SAIC Motor became the title sponsor of the venue. In 2023, the stadium will be one of the arenas of the AFC Asian Cup.

The new stadium has a typical football stand layout, without an athletics track, which is still very unusual in China. Compact, two-level stands with rounded corners surround the playing field on all sides and are equipped with red folding seats. In the western part, there are 1,148 business venues. The total capacity of the stadium is 33,756 spectators. The auditorium is fully covered by a 28,300 m² roof which, thanks to the use of a steel tendon structure, is supported only by pillars in the crown of the stadium, with no additional pillars inside or outside. This has a positive effect on the visibility from the stands, but also on the aesthetics of the arena. Two big screens have been placed under the roof.

The coherent, gently curved form of the roof and external facade, clad in white glossy panels, gives the arena an external shape reminiscent of a traditional Chinese porcelain bowl. The end of the roof is glazed on the inside, allowing more sunlight to enter. The stadium is surrounded by a wide, elevated promenade from which the entrances to the stands lead. On the west side, a VIP pavilion with contrasting red walls and a glass facade adjoins the stadium. Right next to the stadium two full-size, floodlit training pitches have been built. The spaces inside the facility are to accommodate a football museum, an e-sports centre, a fitness club, restaurants and other retail and service outlets, making the stadium a place for entertainment and leisure activities not only during football matches.

The stadium was built in the new Pudong district and is about 13 km east of Shanghai's inner city. At the end of 2021, a new underground line was put into service with a stop right next to the stadium.