This time of the year often reminds me of my younger days playing pick-up games of football with classmates. To be precise, we played full-contact American football, not soccer. I have never really been a fan of soccer. In admitting this, I am also professing an appreciation for a new stadium that is currently under construction in Doha, Qatar.
What I find unique about this structure is that it is being billed as the “world’s first mobile stadium.” The 40,000-seat facility is called the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium and is being built partially out of shipping containers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in Qatar. The plan is to use the stadium for the competition and then dismantle it for use at another site.
According to the Qatar2022 website, “Following the tournament's conclusion, the stadium will be dismantled and make way for a waterfront development for local people to enjoy. As well as providing invaluable infrastructure to sporting projects far and wide, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium will also give global stadium developers and tournament planners a fine example to follow.”
It goes on to say, “The venue's temporary nature and clever modular design will mean that fewer building materials will be required than in traditional stadium building, helping to keep construction costs down. And with other projects reusing the seats, roof, and other components of the arena, parts of the venue will be utilized for years and even decades to come. Minimizing construction costs and ensuring regular future use are the key ingredients in making a new stadium—and sporting mega-events—sustainable.”
Here is video animation of how the stadium is being constructed.
I now plan on watching the World Cup in 2022. Who knows? Maybe I'll become a soccer fan after all.
