Ground has been broken and construction is underway for the Grand Stade Hassan II, a soccer stadium in Casablanca, Morocco. When completed, it will have a capacity of 115,000 people. The only stadiums with a larger capacity are a multi-purpose facility in North Korea built to one-up South Korea, and a cricket stadium in India. Morocco is a co-host of the 2030 World Cup, along with Spain and Portugal, and the new stadium will adhere to FIFA standards.
But what sets this design by Populous and Oualalou + Choi apart is the tent shape. The roof is not fabric, but it provides both light and shade with an aluminum lattice construction. There will be gardens inside, both at ground level and elevated to 28 feet. This being Morocco, there will be multiple levels of luxury boxes and hospitality facilities for 12,000 VIPs, including a royal box. See the plans for this big, innovative stadium at Arch Daily. -via Moss and Fog
(Image credit: Oualalou + Choi)
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Wikipedia insists The Brickyard, while the largest sports venue, is not a stadium. It adds that the The Great Strahov Stadium, which no longer hosting competitive events, had a capacity of 250,000, but was never filled.
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And that's just football. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will sell three times that many tickets. Imagine the parking.
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The disturbing part is to look at 115,000, think "that's not so much bigger", and realize that's because in the US there are 8 college football stadiums in the 100-110K range. The largest, Michigan Stadium, has a capacity of 107,601 ("but it has hosted crowds in excess of 115,000").
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