Qatar launch stunning Al Rayyan stadium design for World Cup 2022... with air conditioning provided to keep players cool

Qatar's Supreme Committee unveil new 40,000-seat stadium for World CupThe Al Rayyan Stadium is fifth 2022 venue and will be completed in 2019

Stadium features 'cooling technology' for fans and players comfort 

Qatar have unveiled the design for their fifth World Cup stadium, a 40,000-seater ground built in 'the gateway to the desert' and featuring air conditioning for the comfort of players and fans.

The Al Rayyan Stadium is inspired by sand dunes and its design has been produced by UK-based architecture firms Ramboll and Pattern.

Fans in the stands will sit in a comfortable 24-28 degrees Celsius, while paths and walkways leading to the stadium will also be cooled.

Al Rayyan will hold matches up to the quarter-final stage of the 2022 tournament and after the World Cup its capacity will be almost halved to 21,000 seats, with the removable upper tier sent to developing nations.

The new stadium, set to be completed in the early months of 2019, now has a more traditional look than the previously-mooted design which featured a huge screen referred to as a 'digital skin'.

 

Sitting on the site of a now-deconstructed ground, Al Rayyan's facade includes seven patterns representing different aspects of Qatari culture which designers say 'blend together to tell the story of a nation'.

A mosque, aquatics centre, athletics track, cricket pitch, tennis courts and a hockey pitch are being built nearby, along with a new medical centre and the already-planned Mall of Qatar. 

 

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A mosque, aquatics centre, athletics track, cricket pitch, tennis courts and hockey pitch are being built nearby

 

At the unveiling of the new stadium in Qatar, viewers look over the site of the new stadium and the plans

 

Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee, said: 'Unveiling the design of Al Rayyan stadium is another important step forward in our preparations to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

'We will continue to work tirelessly as our vision for the tournament takes shape on the ground.

 

'As one of the most successful and widely-supported clubs in Qatar, Al Rayyan has always played an important part in our hosting plans.

 

'We are very confident that this impressively designed stadium and precinct will become a landmark for the Al Rayyan area and benefit the entire community.'

Qatar's original World Cup bid featured 12 stadiums, but that figure is expected to be dropped to the minimum requirement of eight with a final decision to be made by FIFA this year.

 

Plans for four other stadiums have been revealed so far: in Al Khor, Al Wakrah, the Aspire Zone and Qatar Foundation.