Zayed Sports City Stadium, Multi-purpose sports venue in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Zayed Sports City Stadium is a multi-purpose sports venue in Abu Dhabi with seating for more than forty thousand spectators and a FIFA-rated natural grass pitch. The complex includes several training grounds, changing rooms, and media facilities that connect through dedicated access routes.
The venue opened in January 1980 after construction throughout the seventies, with Henri Colboc and Populous responsible for the design. The project cost more than half a billion dirhams and marked a turning point in the region's approach to stadium construction.
The stadium's exterior is defined by arches that appear in the venue's own logo and on the AED 200 banknote. Its name comes from Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who in 1974 ordered the building of a sports complex in Abu Dhabi. The Zayed Sports City Academy, founded in September 2016, gives tennis, cycling and ice skating lessons for adults and children.
The site sits along a ring road that connects several parking areas and entrances, with access also available to nearby training grounds. Major events usually take place on weekends, while weekdays see regular training activity.
The stadium's exterior is defined by arches that appear in the venue's own logo and on the AED 200 banknote. Two scoreboards were added at either end zone in 2003, and the capacity was later reduced to 43,791 public seats.
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