The Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, which will host games on an artificially cooled pitch during the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has officially opened exactly two years before the football tournament begins.
Known as the gateway to the desert, the 40,000-seat stadium on the western edge of the Doha metropolitan area was designed by UK architecture studio Pattern Design.
Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium will host games at the World Cup
The stadium, which will host seven matches during the tournament in 2022, was inaugurated on the 18 December by hosting the final of the Amir Cup.
It is the fourth stadium to be completed ahead of the World Cup, following the Education City Stadium designed by Pattern Design and Fenwick-Iribarren Architects; the Al Wakrah Stadium designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and the Khalifa International stadium. The stadium was completed two years before the event
Built on the edge of the desert, the stadium acts as a landmark for those arriving or leaving the city and was informed by its location.
"It acts as a literal marker along the Durkan highways as you move into the desert of Qatar," said Pattern Design associate director Luke Harrison.
"It is the last marker of your exit and return to or from the desert," he told Dezeen.
It is located on the edge of the desert
Around the stadium are numerous curved concession stands that take their forms directly from the sand dunes in the adjacent desert.
"The desert acted as the inspir...