Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium – stadium description

How was Wenzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium built?

In the 21st century, the eastern coastal district of the city of Wenzhou, Longwan District, began to develop rapidly, transforming into an area with a metropolitan character. One of the symbols of this transformation was to be a state-of-the-art sports complex with a main stadium for 50,000 spectators.

The complex was to be built in stages, with the sports hall and swimming pool together with underground car parks being built first, followed by the stadium in the second stage. There were also plans for a third stage, with further facilities to be built to make the complex a comprehensive center serving athletes and the entire sports industry. The whole complex was to cost 2.7 billion yuan.

The first phase of the new complex began in 2012, with the new sports hall and indoor swimming pool, combined in one building, being put into trial operation on July 2, 2017, at a cost of 887.29 million yuan. Work on the main stadium then proceeded, and a groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 29, 2018. Construction of the new stadium was to be completed by March 2021.

When was Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium built?

The actual construction work started in March 2019. Construction had a good pace, even despite the COVID-19 pandemic. By August 2020, the steel frame of the roof over the stands was ready. Construction was finally completed in the summer of 2021, and on September 22, 2021, the facility passed inspection procedures. Construction of the stadium cost 993.4 million yuan.

When was Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium opened?

The stadium was designated as one of the venues for the 2022 Asian Games, which were to be held in Hangzhou, more than 300 km to the north. The new stadium in Wenzhou was scheduled to host some of the games of the football tournament, which was to be the first major event for the venue. In May 2022, it was announced that the games would be moved, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to 2023.

Despite being practically ready, no events were initially held in the new stadium, and as the Asian Games were postponed, its inauguration was also delayed. It was not until the beginning of April 2023 that two matches were played there, a test ahead of the upcoming Games, which also marked the commissioning of the venue.

Four teams playing in the Chinese Super League were invited to the inauguration and played two pre-season friendly matches at the facility. The first took place on April 3, 2023, and featured the teams Shanghai Shenhua and Changchun Yatai (0:1). In the second game, played on April 7, 2023, Beijing Guoan tied goalless against Nantong Zhiyun.

As part of the 2022 Asian Games, Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium hosted seven games of the women's football tournament in September 2023: six group matches and one quarter-final. In November 2023, the stadium hosted the first concerts with large audiences.

What are the characteristics of Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center?

The Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center is located in Longwan District, in the eastern part of Wenzhou city, at the foot of Daluo Mountain and next to the large Wanda Plaza shopping center. The main facility of the complex is a 50,000-seat stadium, in addition to a sports hall and an indoor swimming pool, combined into one building.

The sports hall has stands for 5,000 spectators and an additional 1,000 folding seats. The Olympic-sized swimming pool has an auditorium for 1,000 people. The hall and pool form a single building, intended to resemble wings from above. The facility is covered with a metallic façade and a roof with glazing.

The complex also includes a floodlit training track and small playing fields, as well as squares, paths, access roads and green areas. Part of the premise is an underground car park for more than 1,200 vehicles.

What does the main stadium of Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center look like?

The stadium of Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center has stands with a capacity of 50,000 spectators, making it at the time of commissioning by far the largest stadium in the city, and the third largest in Zhejiang province. The facility is equipped with an athletics track, surrounded by a moat separating it from the stands.

The stands are divided into two tiers, with the second tier having gaps in the curves through which the facility opens up to the outside. There is also a narrow tier with boxes between the tiers. Four video screens have been placed in the corners. The auditorium is roofed and floodlights have been installed along the edge of the roof.

The stands are equipped with plastic seats in a mosaic of blue and white, with symbols of flying birds as well as Olympic wheels on the west stand and the words "Sport makes life better" on the east stand.

The steel roof structure creates an interesting form with distinctive horns to the north. The horns are actually the tips of the wings, as the stadium is symbolically meant to refer to a seagull in flight. There are more possible interpretations of the building, from the shadow of a cloud, through a floating ship, even to a flying saucer.

The roof surfaces are mostly clad in white, with a strip of glazing along the inner edge and on the north curve. Narrow vertical glazing is also found on the sides. At night, the facades can be illuminated.

The roof extends beyond the outline of the stands, also hiding the raised promenade surrounding the building all around. The wide promenade is level in height with the top of the lower ring of stands. The promenade can be accessed by steps that lead up to it from several directions.