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Qatar's World Cup stadium to be 'costliest' in the world
PTI
Last Updated IST

The Sports City Stadium which will hold 65,000 fans could cost more than USD 2 billion, Dan Meis, of US-based global sports architecture firm Populous, was quoted by Qatar's Gulf Times as saying.

This compares to the USD 1.28 billion it cost to build the new Wembley Stadium in London which is judged one of the world's best new stadia.

"A lot of the cost is the fact that it's much more than a stadium," Meis said.

"That's kind of the big idea, that it's a full entertainment destination in one building. It's a mall, it includes a hotel tower, an office tower and a media tower that all support this giant floating roof and there's occupied space up on the roof, as well," he said.

The Sports City Stadium, one of 12 facilities being built for the mega event, would also be among the most technologically advanced, with removable seats that can scale the building down to a 10,000-seat amphitheatre, the report said.

The project, which is inspired by the shape of a Bedouin tent, will have a partially retractable roof, which will open and close in 15 to 20 minutes. An in-stadium cooling system will be installed to help players and spectators from overheating in a climate where temperatures surpass 100 degrees.

According to the report, water will run through an absorption chiller that will chill the water and send it into another tank. The tank will pump 64-degree air at the ankle and neck level in each row of seats.

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(Published 21 July 2011, 13:48 IST)