#stadium-design

#stadium-design

It was a pitch in the middle of a park, basically, Peter McFarlane, secretary of the Everton Women Official Supporters' Club, says in describing Walton Hall Park, the 500-seat stadium that eventually held a further 1500 spectators before the team moved to Goodison Park. Walton Hall Park was the smallest stadium in the Women's Super League, charming and nostalgic with its railed-off standing space, somewhat isolated outside of the city, and otherwise simply lacking food options and a bar.

Located in Morocco's capital, Rabat, the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium is a 68,700-seat venue by Populous in association with Oualalou + Choi that was delivered in just 24 months and combines a parametric LED facade with a fan-centric bowl. The stadium's shimmering, golden facade is inspired by Rabat's iconic palm-lined boulevards and Morocco's artisanal heritage. Composed of 19,200 aluminum triangles, each uniquely sized, and wrapped in 70 km of LED strips, the shell transforms at sunset into a glowing spectacle. Its placement along the city's eucalyptus-lined green belt symbolically connects the stadium to Rabat's urban and natural landscape.

In Fukushima, a region still defined by the aftershocks of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear disaster, Japanese architecture studio Vuild has envisioned a structure that seeks not only to host matches but also to embody the spirit of regeneration. The new wooden stadium for Fukushima United FC stands as a thoughtful fusion of sport, sustainability, and community resilience, offering a design that looks beyond function to symbolize healing and renewal.

The scheme was developed by a team that includes AFL Architects, Mott Macdonald engineering services, Fabrik landscape design, and Ridge and Partners built environment consultants. Designed for a capacity of 16,000 spectators, the master plan also proposes a 1,000-person events space, a 180-bed hotel, a restaurant, a health and wellbeing centre, and a new public plaza with gardens. The stadium will occupy a five-hectare (12-acre) site in the Triangle area, located 6 km north of Oxford, adjacent to Oxford Parkway railway station and Kidlington Roundabout.