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For the 60,000 fans who will walk up to the Al Bayt Stadium – Al Khor City for the semifinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™, a truly unique acoustic experience is being developed which incorporates the Arab world’s culture and traditional hospitality. The stadium inspired by the Bedouin tent is taking shape on a 14-metre raised hill to replicate the traditional placement of such tents in the past in order to make them more visible to welcome travellers. Now that same effect will serve to enhance the acoustics as the stadium is placed in a bowl in the middle of the raised area.

“The way the stadium has been designed is specifically to enhance acoustics and create an outstanding fan experience,” said Mohemed Ahmed, SC Project Manager at Al Bayt Stadium – Al Khor City.

“Previously stadiums were more open in design, and this meant that sometimes the atmosphere and the noise of the fans could escape. With designs like this unique tent-inspired stadium, the noise and chants of the fans are held inside in a controlled manner. One focus of our architectural team is specifically on projecting and testing the decibel levels of sound in the stadium so we can design the PA system accordingly.”

German architects GMP are working on the stadium design with team members on site and a monthly workshop held to continuously apply the most modern aspects of stadium design and acoustics to the proposed future home of Al Khor Sports Club.

Construction work is now entering the main phase as the first concrete piles have been laid, with the maximum depth of these to reach 21 metres and piling works to be finished by the end of 2016. The entire stadium is set for completion by 2018, at which time fans will be treated to the most advanced stadium acoustics on offer after passing through the precinct, which is to be filled with greenery and parks. Upon entering into the stadium, fans will look down onto the pitch in order to get maximum visibility from all seating areas.

“We are working together with our partners from the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy on this stadium in order to create an outstanding fan experience for spectators,” said Aspire Zone Foundation Project Director Dr. Nasser Al Hajeri. “This starts with the unique design inspired by the traditional Bedouin tents of the region. These tents were traditionally on a hill to become more visible to travelers, and we have recreated this effect here to raise the site up to 14 metres height. Spectators will pass through a welcoming park area similar to what we have at Aspire Zone, and then will walk into the stadium and look down on the pitch. This bowl-shaped design will naturally enhance acoustics in way comparable to what fans at the Alianz Arena in Munich or the Emirates Stadium in London experience.”

On site as the build continues safety continues to be the number one priority, with the SC Workers’ Welfare Standards being implemented across the project. Following the tournament, the stadium will reduce the capacity by half to 32,000 seats, with the upper tiers donated to countries in need of sporting infrastructure.