- China has begun building a massive soccer stadium in Guangzhou province.
- The $1.7 billion lotus-shaped stadium is being built for China’s champion soccer team, Guangzhou Evergrande, and will have a seating capacity of 100,000.
- According to Chinese state media, the stadium’s capacity would surpass Camp Nou.
- The development of the sporting complex comes at a time when stadiums around the world have halted activities due to the coronavirus spread.
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China is building what it claims will be the world’s largest soccer-only stadium in its Guangzhou province.
The huge, lotus-shaped stadium is being built for China’s champion soccer team, Guangzhou Evergrande. The team has won eight Chinese Super League titles as well as two AFC Champions League titles.
According to Chinese state media, the stadium will have a seating capacity of 100,000 and will have a floor area of 150,000 square meters (1.6 million square feet). China claimed the stadium’s capacity would surpass Camp Nou, the stadium of FC Barcelona, which is considered to be the largest stadium in Europe.
A breaking ground ceremony was held in Guangzhou City last week.
The stadium is being developed by the Evergrande Group, which owns the Guangzhou Evergrande team. According to Chinese state media, the group will invest 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) into the project.
Xia Haijun, president of the Evergrande Group, said he expected the stadium to be ready by December 2022, according to state media. He also said that the group would be building "another three or five top-level professional football stadiums with capacities of 80,000 to 100,000 in China."
China is set to host the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, as well as the 2023 Asian championships.
According to state media, the country hopes to be a "global footballing powerhouse" by 2050.
The development of the stadium comes at a time when stadiums around the world have been empty due to the coronavirus spread. The novel coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has infected over 2.7 million people and has killed over 190,000.
China has recorded over 83,000 cases and 4,600 deaths. Guangzhou is the most populous city in the Guangdong province, which reported over 1,500 coronavirus cases as of April 23.
Major sporting events around the world have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic as countries put social distancing measures in place. Most notably, The International Olympic Committee postponed the 2020 Olympics until July through August of 2021.
Several major soccer events have also been postponed, including the Copa America and the Asian World Cup qualifying matches.
