Following the Brazil vs Korea match, the final FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 match to be hosted at Stadium 974, initial work has begun to take the venue out of tournament mode ahead of handing the stadium back to the Host Country, thesportsbay.com reports.
The World Cup’s first temporary stadium will host the Qatar Fashion United by CR Runway fashion show on 16 December 2022.
The precise timeline for the full dismantling and repurposing of the stadium is being finalised at the moment and details will be communicated by organisers in due course.
Stadium 974 – named after Qatar’s international dialling code and the number of shipping containers used in its construction – was one of seven grounds built for the tournament, while an eighth was extensively redeveloped.
The entire steel structure of Stadium 974 can be repurposed for another World Cup or major sporting event as either a venue of the same size or several smaller facilities.
Qatar called the stadium its “beacon of sustainability” as part of its pledge to deliver the first carbon neutral World Cup.
As well as seven new stadiums, Qatar has a new airport, metro system, roads and about 100 new hotels – but has faced intense scrutiny and criticism over the way it has treated the tens of thousands of migrant workers used to build the infrastructure.
Stadium 974 will be used for a fashion show and concerts in the coming days with a Qatar 2022 organising committee spokesperson saying the “precise timeline for the full dismantling and repurposing” is not yet finalised.
It was the only stadium built for the World Cup without air conditioning, so hosted only evening matches, culminating in Brazil’s last-16 victory over South Korea on 5 December.
The use of shipping containers and recycled steel helped reduce waste generated and construction time compared to the other new venues.
Qatar and designers Fenwick Iribarren Architects said they aimed to avoid building a “white elephant” – a venue unused or rarely used after a tournament, as has proven the case following the three previous World Cups in Russia, Brazil and South Africa.
A report into Stadium 974 commissioned by Fifa and delivered by emission reduction experts also pointed to that benefit, and added it could allow stadiums to be built in more central and “easily accessible” locations, reducing “intra-city fan travel” during tournaments.
Organisers have also said they will donate 170,000 seats from other stadiums to developing countries to try to make them more sustainable and avoid them becoming underused in future.
