Stadium

Qatar's Al Wakrah Stadium has officially been inaugurated and hosted its first soccer game. Designed by the late Zaha Hadid, with longtime collaborator Patrik Schumacher, its sculpted form is inspired by a type of local boat and it's meant to keep spectators and players cool even in the summer heat.

BIG has unveiled plans for a new sports stadium and entertainment center in Austin, Texas, that will include soccer, rugby, basketball, rodeo, shopping, and dining facilities. The East Austin District is also aiming for self-sufficiency in electricity with a rooftop covered in solar panels.

​Billions of dollars are spent constructing the stadiums for spectacles like the FIFA World Cup, but these facilities can struggle to find much use thereafter. Ahead of the 2022 event, host Qatar has unveiled the designs for a modular stadium that promises to address this dilemma.

VFL Wolfsburg is to become the first German soccer team to have LED pitch lighting installed at its stadium. Philips, which is providing the lighting, says it will deliver a better quality of light at the Volkswagen Arena, allowing for improved TV coverage of games.

Forest Green Rovers may only play in the 5th tier of the UK's soccer pyramid, but the team will soon have facilities up there with the very best. It has appointed Zaha Hadid Architects to construct a low-carbon stadium made almost entirely of sustainably-sourced wood.

A tennis club in Amsterdam has a novel approach to providing both a clubhouse and bleachers. It has combined the two. The clubhouse at IJburg tennis club is designed in such a way that spectators can climb it and watch matches on the adjacent court.​

San Diego city officials have revealed some initial details concerning a planned new NFL stadium that will be home to the San Diego Chargers. Still subject to final approval, the stadium boasts a capacity of 68,000 seats and features a design that draws inspiration from the local area.

A new 300,000 LED façade has been installed at the Allianz Arena, home of soccer powerhouse Bayern Munich. The façade is wrapped around the entire outside of the 71,137-capacity stadium, covering an area of of 26,000 sq m, and will be used to create dynamic and colorful light displays.

When the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks face on Sunday, it will also showcase new technology as the first Superbowl game played under LED lighting.

As a way of testing new sensors and software, University of Washington seismologists have planted seismographs to study the fanmade "earthquake" caused by American football spectators.

With the Al Wakrah and Al Bayt stadium designs already announced, a third design has now been unveiled for use at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The existing Khalifa International Stadium will be renovated to bring it up to current FIFA standards, and also have air cooling features fitted.

Earlier this year, mobile operator EE announced a partnership with Wembley Stadium. The six-year deal includes the installation of "state-of-the-art technologies" at the stadium. Amongst these is an LED lighting system that will illuminate the stadium's arch based on fan sentiment on social media.