CHENGDU – The fast-developing southwestern Chinese city continues its intense work to transform itself into a competition and culture hub, with 12 new venues under construction and 37 currently being renovated.
The Fenghuang Mountain Sports Park is one of the marquee venues underway with locals already calling the construction site the home of Chengdu’s newest landmark. Located in the northern part of the city of 16 million residents, the concrete structures that have been erected can be seen from afar, with the roofing and building “lock-up” phases underway before moving onto the facility’s final fit-and-finishing and venue landscaping stage.
Realizing the “One Stadium and One Gymnasium” Construction Plan
A core venue for the Chengdu 2021 FISU Summer World University Games, the Fenghuang Mountain Sports Park is also key to the city achieving its goal of becoming a “world-famous competition city.” Local leaders bid for the Summer World University Games with the expressed hope of opening the city up to student-athletes from around the globe — and as the ideal way of turning the expansive metropolis into “three cities and capitals” – an international capital of gastronomy, music, and sports.
After the FISU Flame is extinguished to conclude the World University Games, Chengdu citizens will be able to witness other top sports events as well as work out and burn calories at the facilities.
A sport, culture and entertainment park of Chengdu proportions
The Fenghuang Mountain Sports Park project area covers 220,00 square meters – or enough to house 30 football pitches. A mixed-use space, the park will incorporate a stadium, gymnasium and supporting commercial area in a park-like setting. The stadium is a professional football stadium with 60,000 seats that meets FIFA standards while the gymnasium is an 12,000-seat complex that meets NBA standards.
The project contractor notes that the project is both on time and within budget. With the stadium’s main steel structure complete, workers have moved on to the decoration construction process.
For the gymnasium, the steel net frame structure is in place, with the roof construction next to come. In the commercial area, the main structure is 95 percent complete, with the focus soon turning to develop the green belt area around the venue befitting one of the world’s most populous cities.
The entire complex is slated to open in March 2021, with the facilities set to host basketball games during the Summer World University Games. After FISU Games-time, the venue will also hold the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men’s football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
A Future City Landmark
Upon next year’s anticipated completion date, the sports park is all but certain to be a new Chengdu city landmark, an integral hub for hosting international and domestic sports events, housing youth football training projects, enhancing sports exchanges, and fueling tourism.
“We are offering our contribution to the successful hosting of the World University Games Chengdu,” said a Chengdu construction worker assigned to the project. “We hope that in the future this park will earn a good reputation around the world, displaying the charm of Chengdu as an international modern city as well as providing benefits for the local citizens.”