Al Ain Stadium among the best in the world

The Emirates’ most modern stadium has been nominated to become Stadium of the Year 2014. It is now subject to two votes, one by the public and thge other by a specialised jury of architects.

The Hazza bin Zayed Stadium is among a number of venues nominated for the Stadium of the Year award. Stadium of the Year is held every year in January and February by Stadiony.net and StadiumDB.com, two websites dedicated solely to sports stadia. The current crop of nominations includes 32 major stadiums opened in 2014. HBZ Stadium is the first ever nominee from the United Arab Emirates.

"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 fa?ade 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, organiser of the competition.

Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium is the first ever to be delivered by Pattern Architects. It is specifically designed for the harsh weather conditions of the Emirates in terms of shading, ventilation and hospitality facilities. It was built by some of the best specialists worldwide, combining British design with German engineering and construction experience. The project cost 145 million Euros and took only 18 months from start to finish.

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

A separate vote is run 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 recognised internationally for their stadium works.

The public vote and jury vote awards will both be announced on February 19th. Previous winners include Aviva Stadium (2010), PGE Arena Gda?sk (2011), Gremio Arena (2012) and Ghelamco Arena (2013).