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The Most Anticipated Upcoming Football Stadiums


The world of football never rests. With clubs looking to constantly modernize their stadiums to enhance fan experience, as well as increase the capacity of supporters that can be accommodated per game to match the ever increasing demand for seats.

But for some clubs their current stadiums simply cannot be expanded or redeveloped enough to match their growth and ambitions, and they've opted to embark on impressive projects to build completely new stadiums, featuring the latest technology and intelligent design techniques available to our modern world.

Let's take a look at some of the most highly anticipated new stadiums currently being constructed around the world, with each of these projects proposing futuristic features that are sure to rock the football world and its fans for years to come.

New White Hart Lane - Tottenham Hotspur

New White Hart Lane
New White Hart Lane

The Spurs announced in 2008 that rather than redevelop White Hart Lane, they had decided to build a completely new stadium that could fit their increasing needs.

Rumored to cost around £450m, the new stadium will feature 61,000 seats across 9 floors, including a single tiered home end only 5 meters away from the goal line, and boasting an enormous capacity of 17,000 seats the biggest in England.

But the biggest new feature of all is undoubtedly the addition of a retractable grass field which yields to reveal an artificial surface underneath. This artificial surface will be used to host NFL games, after signing a 10-year partnership agreement that will see two games a year being played in Tottenham, after the great success of the first NFL games played in the UK in Wembley stadium.

This move was seen as immensely welcome news by the local government of Tottenham, as it will certainly be a boost to its tourism based economy and allow the city to showcase its many virtues, including its burgeoning underground music scene.

Preliminary works have already begun with the clearance of the area behind the White Hart Lane's North End, with full works likely to begin in 2017 - at the end of the 2016/17 season

Due to open in 2018, the Spurs will need to ground-share for the 2017/18 season while the construction is taking place, most likely with West Ham at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, or at Wembley Stadium.

Las Vegas Stadium - Relocated Oakland Raiders

Las Vegas Stadium
Las Vegas Stadium

The Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis announced his intentions of moving his team to Las Vegas in 2016, contingent on the city helping him finance the construction of an arena worthy of the NFL what with the Sam Boyd Stadium being undersized for American Football's professional league.

The proposed arena was designed by MANICA Architecture, the same firm in charge of the renovation of Barcelona's Camp Nou, and its cost is valued at a whopping $1.9 billion - $750 million of which will be supplied by the State of Nevada through a newly increased hotel tax -a record amount.

The Las Vegas Stadium proposal is a sleek, futuristic domed stadium with a clear roof and silver and black exterior, and featuring large retractable side windows providing a breathtaking view of the iconic Las Vegas Strip skyline. The seating arrangement will be in the shape of a horseshoe and will seat 65,000 fans, with the built-in ability to expand and accommodate up to 72,000 when required for larger events. The stadium is expected to be completed in advance of the 2020 NFL season.

But while the main intention of the stadium is to house the relocated Oakland Raiders, this doesn't mean that American Football will be the only sport to be played in this state of the art arena. With Las Vegas being one of the world's most popular casino destinations, the MLS is also considering adding an expansion franchise in Sin City, which would also be hosted in the Las Vegas stadium.

Along with MLS matches, it's expected that this arena will also host concerts, conventions, rodeos, UFC matches and even WWE's WrestleMania.

Wanda Metropolitano - Atletico Madrid

Wanda Metropolitano
Wanda Metropolitano

Atletico Madrid announced plans for a new stadium in late 2011, though they had been attempting to secure funding by winning a bid for Madrid to host the Summer Olympics since the beginning of the millennium.

Currently being built on the site of the Estadio La Peineta - a now demolished athletics stadium a mere 7km away from Barajas Airport - the new stadium is to replace the Estadio Vicente Calderon as Atletico's home ground, as the latter is surrounded by a river and a highway on one side and residential buildings on the other, therefore preventing any possibility for expansion or redevelopment.

The name of the stadium was recently unveiled to be Wanda Metropolitano, named after Atletico's original stadium and the Chinese Wanda Group - expected to pay naming rights of around 10 million euros a year.

The cost of the project is an estimated €240 million, which is projected to be entirely financed by developing the land on which the Vicente Calderon currently stands into residential buildings, making Atletico Madrid the lone owner of the stadium.

Expected to be completed by summer 2017, the Metropolitano will more than double the spectator capacity of the Vicente Calderon, offering an estimated 67,000 seats all of which are to be covered by an innovative retractable roof that can change colors at a moment's notice.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta United FC

Mercedez-Bens Stadium
Mercedez-Benz Stadium

Much like the Las Vegas Stadium, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is also a NFL stadium that will also serve for the MLS, with the key difference that it will be used by an already existing franchise: The Atlanta United FC.

In 2011, Super Bowl LI runner-ups the Atlanta Falcons announced that they were looking to build a new stadium that could compete with the features and amenities from the newest stadiums in the league.

Partnering with the Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA), they were able to raise the required $1.5 billion to make it a reality. Like Nevada, the city of Atlanta and Fulton County will help fund the venture through a hotel tax, however only contributing $200 million.

Construction of the new stadium began in April 2014 and is expected to be completed in June 2017. Inspired by the oculus in the dome of the Pantheon in Rome, the exterior of the stadium will be one of the most unique the world's ever seen. Featuring a retractable roof that when opened the stadium will be in the shape of an oval and span 58,679.4181 square meters.

The outside walls will be assembled from translucent glass, allowing natural light into the stadium, and there will be large windows that will provide a view of the majestic Atlanta skyline.

The most remarkable feature however will be the stadium's halo board, the largest video board in the world at almost five stories tall and 335.28 meters in circumference.

The stadium will have a seating capacity of approximately 70,000, including 180 luxury suites and 7,500 club seats, and is expected to host the College Football National Championship Game, Super Bowl LIII, and the 2020 NCAA basketball Final Four.

New National Stadium - 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics

Tokyo National Stadium
Tokyo National Stadium

After Tokyo's successful bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics, they toyed with the idea of renovating the National Olympic Stadium before ultimately deciding to tear it down and build a $2.2 billion upgrade instead.

The new stadium is set to be the venue for the Tokyo 2020 opening and closing ceremonies, as well as for athletics, rugby and football finals. Featuring a total capacity of 80,000, including 12,000 temporary seats over the athletics track

After multiple revisions in the original designs to attempt to keep costs down, in the process scraping features such as a retractable roof, air conditioning, sports museum and a sky walkway, construction of the stadium began October 2016. Expected to be completed by November 2019, the stadium will then be handed over to the International Olympic Committee so they can perform the required games and ceremony preparations.




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