There were more than a few murmurs of discontent and surprise when FIFA announced their World Cup 2022 would be staged in Qatar. There were a few reasons for the surprise of football fans across the globe. This will be the first World Cup played in the Arab World and
A new state of the art training centre will be built by McLaren Construction for Leicester City as part of a major deal between the two. “We are very excited to work on this prestigious project. It’s a wonderful opportunity to partner with Leicester City to create a facility that
Pure Commercial Finance, the Cardiff-based commercial finance brokers, carried out a research to reveal whether purchasing property near a football stadium is a worthy investment. The research found that homes near football stadiums are experiencing property price increases considerably higher than the UK average. The brokerage’s campaign combines Land Registry data and
Building work has started on Hearts’ main stand with the demolition of the existing stand at Tynecastle. The club shop, old stadium offices and an adult education centre will be torn down to create space for the new £12 million scheme. The City of Edinburgh Council approved planning permission for
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered an investigation into the finances of the Olympic Stadium as the cost of converting the venue after the 2012 Games has increased by a further £51 million. The bill for the conversion has now reached £323 million, with one of the primary factors behind
Final approval has now been granted for the construction of a brand new stadium for Tottenham Hotspur, with 61,000 seats for fans, at its present site. The stadium, which is valued at £400m will also have a retractable pitch so that it is able to play host to both traditional
BDC 321 : Oct 2024
There were more than a few murmurs of discontent and surprise when FIFA announced their World Cup 2022 would be staged in Qatar. There were a few reasons for the surprise of football fans across the globe. This will be the first World Cup played in the Arab World and the first tournament of its kind not to be played during June and July. World Cup 2022 will occur between November and December, with the final played a week before Christmas. This measure was brought in to help safeguard players, officials and spectators against the searing temperatures of summer in Qatar. Qatar isn’t a nation known for its love of football. Still, FIFA was blown away by Qatar’s bid, with organisers promising a competition that leaves a legacy of comfort, accessibility and sustainability. Plans were put in place to build brand new sports stadiums capable of hosting thousands of fans and the world’s top players. It was difficult to imagine Qatar having the infrastructure in place to host football’s best-loved games. Still, as we approach the opening ceremony and big kick-off in game one, everything looks to fall into place for Qatar. The World Cup is fast-approaching, and fans can begin to dream of a memorable month of play with the stadium builds on schedule. Followers have been busy preparing for the matches, buying merchandise, planning watch parties and even making predictions on which side will lift the famous trophy. Betting apps specialising in major sports allow registered members to bet on NFL games, horse races, and NBA matches are able to wager on the World Cup. Pick the nation you expect to win the tournament or play one of the many exciting specials offered on the outright and each fixture. Qatar will be competing in the World Cup for the first time, having secured a place without having to qualify due to their status as the home nation. Fans hope that home advantage gives their players an edge, but what can we expect from the stadiums in Qatar? Let’s look at three stadiums you will become familiar with this winter. Lusail Iconic Stadium This will be the main attraction of Qatar 2022 and will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the final match, where the venue will be packed to its 80,000 capacity. This nation’s biggest stadium enjoys excellent transport links, located less than 25km from Doha. Construction of the Lusail Iconic Stadium began in April 2017 and is on course to be unveiled in time for the first game. The opening ceremony and first round of matches from the World Cup will double as an introduction to this arena which was designed by British giants of construction Foster and Partners with Populous and MANICA Architecture. Solar power will keep the stadium cool and leave a zero carbon footprint. Some of the games you can expect to find at Lusail Iconic Stadium include Argentina v Saudi Arabia, Brazil v Serbia and Portugal v Uruguay during the group stages. It will also provide the backdrop for Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and the final matches. Al Bayt Stadium This is the second most important stadium of the World Cup, and with a 60,000 capacity, this state-of-the-art venue will provide the backdrop for some crucial matches. Another stadium that will be unveiled in time for the World Cup, the likes of England, Spain and Germany will play here during the groups. Al Bayt Stadium, which is 35km from Doha, also hosts Round of 16, a quarter-final and a semi-final. Al Thumama Stadium Complete with a 40,000-seater capacity, Al Thumama Stadium is the third biggest in Qatar and will play a major role in hosting the tournament. One of the more interesting stadiums, it was designed by Ibrahim Jaidah, who is the chief architect of the Arab Engineering Bureau. This stadium has a bit of a jump on the others as it has seen competitive action before November, having hosted the Emir Cup Final played last October. It was awarded the MIPIM/Architectural Review Future Project Reward in the sports and stadiums category.
A new state of the art training centre will be built by McLaren Construction for Leicester City as part of a major deal between the two. “We are very excited to work on this prestigious project. It’s a wonderful opportunity to partner with Leicester City to create a facility that will help to shape the next generation of top sportsmen and women – for the club and for the sport. We bring our considerable experience in sports and leisure facilities to the project, as well as our reputation for quality and timely delivery,” said Kevin Taylor, Chairman of McLaren Group. The training centre will host new facilities for the Premier League football team, including 11 full-size outdoor pitches, eight smaller pitches, five training grids and two goalkeeping areas. The indoor facilities include 35 bedrooms, a hydrotherapy pool, rehabilitation facilities and dining areas for the club’s academy and first team, as well as administration offices and a media centre. A full-size indoor artificial pitch will also be located next to the main building. Furtmermore, the development contains a sports turf academy which will be used to train the next generation of grounds-people, and a 499-seat mini-venue show pitch, so that the under-23 and under-18 teams can experience a match environment. Principal contractor McLaren will complete the project, which is scheduled for completion in mid 2020, on the grounds of the former Park Hill Golf and Fishing Centre at Charnwood, supporting biodiversity with the delivery of 17 new ponds and 38,000 new trees.
Pure Commercial Finance, the Cardiff-based commercial finance brokers, carried out a research to reveal whether purchasing property near a football stadium is a worthy investment. The research found that homes near football stadiums are experiencing property price increases considerably higher than the UK average. The brokerage’s campaign combines Land Registry data and previous reports by mortgage lenders to highlight previous property surges near new English sports stadiums such as The Emirates Stadium and the Etihad Stadium. It also predicts areas which will likely see an increase as the result of future redevelopment. “The statistics are compelling, it’s great to see that as a result of the development of new football grounds its proven to not only stimulate local infrastructure investment, regenerate tired or unused areas of the cities but to create an unprecedented rise in house prices in the immediate area of redevelopment,” said Ben Lloyd, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Pure Commercial Finance. If the same average growth is seen in the next two decades as that seen in 1997 to 2017, investors can expect an average 450% increase in property prices for buildings near Premier League stadiums, according to the research. Saying that, developments coming out of Millwall FC are definitely worth keeping an eye on. The New Den, which is Millwall’s current stadium, opened in 1993 just a few miles from London’s financial centre. In August 2018, it was reported that the club had appointed architects to draw up plans for its community programme, which involves pre-planning what the club requires in order to meet Premier League requirements. The average property price in nearby postcodes is around £505,000 – up more than 33% in the last five years, and 292% in the last two decades – and, if the club is redeveloped, this could see local property prices positively affected. Research has also revealed that investing in property surrounding West Ham, Fulham and Arsenal’s stadiums could achieve healthy returns on investment. Whereas property with the highest price per square metre can be found near stadiums belonging to Chelsea, Fulham, and Arsenal. One of the biggest increases in past property prices could be seen surrounding Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium in North London. The average home value in the postal district surrounding Spurs’ stadium rose more than seven and a half times in the two decades between 1997 and 2017 from £59,638 to £450,104. Zoopla states the current average price around White Hart Lane is just under £460,000.
Building work has started on Hearts’ main stand with the demolition of the existing stand at Tynecastle. The club shop, old stadium offices and an adult education centre will be torn down to create space for the new £12 million scheme. The City of Edinburgh Council approved planning permission for the work last month and the club has spent the last few weeks clearing the site. Workmen have now moved in to start taking down the old club office building for the initial phase of the redevelopment. The existing, 102 year old, dilapidated stand will be replaced by the new stand and will house 7,290 seats that will increase stadium capacity to more than 20,000. There will be hospitality lounges, new offices, a roof terrace, state of the art dressing rooms, a directors’ suite, media facilities, ticket kiosks and a new Tynecastle Nursery School. The architect behind the design is Jim Clydesdale and he will also be responsible for the other three stands at Tynecastle. The whole project is set to be complete by September next year and will complete the rebuilding of the ground. While the work is completed, Hearts’ stadium shop and offices have been relocated to the back of the Wheatfield Stand, where they will be situated throughout the whole of the building work. The plan is for the new stand to be constructed around the current one, the inside of which will then be excavated next summer. The Tynecastle Stadium redevelopment plan was approved by councillors last month. Hearts owner Ann Budge said last month that she expects the current 17,400 capacity to be unaffected while the work takes place. “Inevitably there will be a bit of disruption because it is a big building programme but we absolutely keep that to a minimum and the supporters who still want to come and sit in the old stand will do so,” she added.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered an investigation into the finances of the Olympic Stadium as the cost of converting the venue after the 2012 Games has increased by a further £51 million. The bill for the conversion has now reached £323 million, with one of the primary factors behind the rise being the installation of retractable seats. The seats allow the former Olympic stadium to host both football matches and athletics events, with the estimated cost of them rising from £300,000 to £8 million. Khan’s deputy mayor Jules Pipe explained that City Hall has inherited “a mess” from predecessor Boris Johnson. Pipe commented: “Last year the previous administration told the public that the costs had risen in total to around £270m. The new Mayor has now been told that cost will be more than £320m. “Understandably, Sadiq has ordered an investigation as to why those two figures are so wildly different. “As the new administration at City Hall is clearing up the mess of the previous administration, we need to make sure that the stadium runs on a sustainable basis and is affordable to London.” It is now being suggested that the seating issue could threaten the viability of athletics events and concerts scheduled for next summer, and may even delay some of West Ham United’s home fixtures at the beginning of the next football season. Engineers have estimated that it may take up to 30 days to reconfigure the stadium, which is three times as long as first estimated. The issue has been complicated further as the original seating contractor, Alto Seating Solutions, has since gone into liquidation. The most recent cost rise in the Olympic stadium conversion has taken the total bill for the venue up to £752 million, which has been met almost entirely by the taxpayer aside from a £15 million contribution by West Ham.
Final approval has now been granted for the construction of a brand new stadium for Tottenham Hotspur, with 61,000 seats for fans, at its present site. The stadium, which is valued at £400m will also have a retractable pitch so that it is able to play host to both traditional football as well as American football games, of which it will host two per season. And while the project does highlight a great piece of news for fans, it forms part of a larger goal for rejuvenation in the surrounding area which will no doubt support the local community in the times to come. The project, which has been dubbed the Northumberland development project, will include a centre for sports and health, as well as a 180 bedroom hotel. Warmington House will also be transformed into the club’s own museum. Additionally, it has been confirmed that there will be 585 homes developed at the site, with a confirmed minimum amount of £48.4m granted from this side of the development for the improvements of the stadium itself. The goal is for the project to be completed in time for the start of the season in 2018. £28m has been invested directly by City Hall from the Mayor’s regeneration fund and the London Enterprise Panel as part of the goal to rejuvenate the surrounding area – this includes investment into Tottenham Hale station, employment, training and highway improvements. And nodding to the integral role of the stadium in the community, Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, highlighted how the venue is steeped in history and that, through the development, it will be able to increase capacity by almost 100% as well as provide first-class facilities for football, sports events and concerts.
