🏟️ Top 10 most unusual sports venues in the world
The question of whether sport should be considered art is raised quite often, although there is still no clear conclusion. Another thing is the competition venues. Many modern arenas sometimes look so unusual that they arouse admiration and become a must-see for tourists who are not even interested in sports. From this material you will learn where the stadium is located in the rocks, what a dune-like golf club looks like, and in which country they ski from the roof of a waste recycling plant.
Golf club like dunes in Jordan
Looking at this golf stadium, even the most non-playing person will want to try to hit the hole. The architectural sports wonder is located in the desert of Jordan. The golf club fits perfectly into the sandy landscapes, as its wavy shape itself resembles dunes and even somewhat Bedouin tents.
By the way, the building was built by hand, and the interior uses the same natural colors as on the facade. For example , rusty tones echo the shades of the mountains that are located nearby. Everything is done as much as possible to suit nature. Even if you walk around the building, you won’t find ventilation grilles or lighting. Everything was installed secretly in order to maintain maximum purity of the forms.
In a building with a total area of several thousand square kilometers, you can both play golf (there are 18 holes to choose from) and relax in a spa, restaurant, and lounge bar. Or you can just go shopping.
Bamboo Stadium in China
Continuing the theme of merging with nature: which country was first associated with bamboo? That's right – China! It was here in Guangdong province, in the small (by the standards of the Celestial Empire) village of Changqi, that a basketball court from this material was revived. The once playing area was in disrepair for many years. Then the student group and local residents decided to revive it. During construction, the canopies over the stands were made from bamboo, inspired by the local weaving culture. In this region, bamboo is used to make textiles and original products.
The brightest stadium in the world
The Porto Galese football stadium in the city of Aveiro was built in 2003 for the European football championship. At first glance, it resembles a huge entertainment center or a child's drawing. It's all about the unique color, or rather its brightness and variety. Beams, seats (and this is just over 30 thousand seats), columns, walls – everything is replete with the colors of the rainbow. This is perhaps the most vibrant arena in the world. By the way, the local club from Aveiro “Beira Mar” plays home matches at the stadium.
Football arena in the rocks
Another stadium in Portugal that will definitely attract your attention, though not with its color, but with its location! The municipal arena in Braga is located… in the rocks, on the site of a former granite quarry. The sports ground was first discovered during the European Championships in 2004. According to the architects, the structure should be an excellent place to play football and at the same time not disturb the local landscape.
The architect from Porto, Eduardo Souto de Moura, volunteered to implement the idea. For the successful project in 2011, he even received the Nobel Prize in architecture – the Pritzker Award. Eduardo's prize was presented by the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. He said the combination of form and function, art and accessibility is the reason the architect won the award.
True, the idea of building an unusual stadium cost the country dearly. ” Braga Municipal” is one of the most expensive Portuguese stadiums. At the estimate level, it cost 32 million euros. And in the process, the price rose to 80 million euros. But in the end, more than 180 million euros were spent from the state budget on construction and annual maintenance.
Although it is possible that the costs are partly offset by tourists and football fans who pay just to look at the arena in the rocks. By the way, the stadium’s designers were inspired by the architecture of the ancient South American Incas.
floating hole
Another unusual place to play golf is in Idaho, USA. It is noteworthy that there are 18 holes on the field, one of which is on… a floating piece of land and is controlled by a computer. The drifting island is built on a barge submerged underwater on rails. It can travel a distance of 87 to 183 meters. This approach prevents players from getting used to a certain shot strength, and every time they reach the 14th hole, they have to adjust again. A logical question arises: how do golfers get to an unusual hole? A special water taxi is available to athletes.
Stadium with retractable arenas
Japan is a country of high technology. It is not surprising that innovation is also applied to sports facilities. For example, on the island of Hokkaido there is a miracle stadium. Outwardly, a rather simple and unremarkable design is a transformer. The arena has an artificial field for baseball and a natural field for football. Coverage may vary depending on the sport.
- The artificial turf of a baseball arena rolls down;
- The sliding wall opens to the right and left. At the same time, the stands move forward;
- Parallel to the movement of the floating football arena, a rotating stand moves;
- The installation of the football arena is completed by turning it 90 ° along with a rotating stand;
- The transformation from a baseball arena to a soccer arena is completed and the retractable walls are closed.
There are also similar double arenas in Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. In contrast, the Japanese stadium has a fixed roof. Note that the stadium was built back in 2001. So the step in time was taken a long time ago.
Winter resort in the middle of the desert
UAE. Snow. Ski resort. It’s hard to connect these three sentences with each other, but you have to. Yes, yes, in the center of the desert, in Dubai, there is a huge amusement park with a ski slope, sledding and snowboarding. Ski Dubai is located inside one of the largest shopping centers in the world. This building was included in our selection primarily because of its unusual purpose. The ski slope from the 85-meter-high artificial mountain looks impressive even from the outside.
Unlike natural snow slopes, Ski Dubai offers visitors an exclusive experience – communication with real penguins! Yes, yes, several individuals are residents of the artificial ski complex and come out to play with visitors several times a day. In addition, meetings with the owners of the winter park can even be booked.
The temperature inside the building, of course, is also winter. It is maintained at a level below zero and can fall even lower.
Skiing from the roof… of a waste recycling plant
Since Candidate, architecture with enviable consistency continues to shake the world community. If the ski resort in the center of Dubai is not particularly surprising, then how do you like the idea of skiing from the roof of a waste recycling plant? The idea turned into reality in the suburbs of Copenhagen. Construction was completed in 2019. At the exit, residents had the opportunity to ride along a track 500 m long and with a height difference of 85 m. Since Denmark is a country without mountains, lovers of rugged terrain liked the idea.
The plant itself has been modernized so much that emissions into the atmosphere are minimal. This made it possible to open a restaurant inside, a ski school and the world's tallest climbing wall, 10 meters wide and 88 meters high. Along the slope there is a jogging track and a walking path.
Did you like our selection? Write in the comments which sports facility surprised you the most!