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29 March 2024

New Al Ain stadium among the best in the world

Stadium enthusiasts from around the world can vote to select their Stadium of the Year.

Published
By Staff

The Emirates’ most modern stadium is nominated to become Stadium of the Year 2014. It’s subject to two votes: by the public and by specialised jury of architects.

The Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium is among venues nominated to Stadium of the Year award. The current edition includes 32 major stadiums opened in 2014. HBZ Stadium is the first ever nominee from the United Arab Emirates and one of three in the Middle East.

“This stadium truly stands out, not only in the Emirates, but among all modern stadiums – even those planned for the future. Its seating layout, dynamic sun roof and palm-tree façade are all extraordinary features. It’s very likely to become a model for stadia built in this kind of climate conditions”, says Grzegorz Kaliciak, founder of StadiumDB.com, organizer of the competition.



Hazza Bin Zayed is Stadium is the first ever delivered by Pattern Architects. It’s specifically designed for harsh weather conditions of the Emirates in terms of shading, ventilation and hospitality facilities. It was erected by some of the best specialists worldwide, combining English design, German engineering and construction experience. The project cost €145 million to carry out and took only 1.5 years from start to finish.

Two votes, two awards

Stadium enthusiasts from around the world can vote to select their Stadium of the Year. Each Internet user may vote only once by selecting five most favourite stadia. So far over 35,000 people have given their vote through dedicated online platform. The vote is open until February 17.

A separate vote is ran by the competition Jury, consisting of famous architects from five countries. Bob van Bebber and Mike Bell from South Africa designed stadiums of the 2010 World Cup, while Bruno Campos from Brazil was one of the architects of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The Jury also consists of John Bontinck (Belgium), Bryan Roe (Ireland) and Serban Tiganas (Romania), all recognized internationally for their stadium works.

The Public Vote and Jury Vote awards will both be announced on February 19.

Stadium of the Year is held every year in January and February by Stadiony.net and StadiumDB.com, two websites dedicated solely to sports stadiums. Current edition is already the fifth one. Previous winners include Aviva Stadium (2010), PGE Arena GdaƄsk (2011), Gremio Arena (2012) and Ghelamco Arena (2013).