Imam Reza Stadium

AQR Stadium[1]
Location Iran Mashhad, Iran
Coordinates 36°19′32″N 59°34′12″E / 36.32556°N 59.57000°E / 36.32556; 59.57000Coordinates: 36°19′32″N 59°34′12″E / 36.32556°N 59.57000°E / 36.32556; 59.57000
Owner Astan Quds Razavi
Operator Astan Quds Razavi
Executive suites 70
Capacity 35,800
Field size 105 by 68 metres (115 by 74 yd)
Surface Desso GrassMaster
Construction
Broke ground 5 March 2011
Opened 1 June 2016 (planned)[2]
Construction cost 70 billion IR
($20 million)
Architect Andres Nobel
Nima Shahrokhi
Structural engineer Boton Mashin
General contractor Azaran Sazeh
Main contractors Tous Metric
Bounyan Boton
Tenants
Iran national football team
Website
sport.aqr.ir

The Imam Reza Stadium[3] (Persian: ورزشگاه امام رضا), also known as Astan Quds Razavi Stadium (Persian: ورزشگاه آستان قدس رضوی)[4] is an all-seated football stadium located in Mashhad, Iran, which is currently under construction. The stadium will have a seating capacity of 35,800 and will be the sixth biggest stadium in Iran. It will host some matches of Iran national football team. The stadium is planned to be completed by June 2016.

The stadium is in an area of Mashhad that belongs to the Astan Quds Razavi (AQR), a charitable foundation which manages the Imam Reza shrine. The stadium is located in the eastern side of the 2,000 hectare AQR Sports Complex and has a 5.4 hectare area. In addition to the football stadium, the complex has ten sport salons including tennis, basketball and volleyball arenas, swimming polls and water collection. The complex also has amphitheater, conference hall, dining hall, museum and coaching classes.[5]

History and design

Mashhad Imam Reza Stadium is one of the most modern stadiums in Iran. The stadium is designed by Azaran Sazeh company and German-French architect Andres Nobel.

The preliminary steps for building a new football stadium in Mashhad started in 2011. Astan Quds Razavi (AQR) had planned to build a big sport complex to develop the sport in Mashhad. The Football Federation of Iran also asked AQR to build a new modern football stadium to host some matches of Iran national football team and Hazfi Cup finals. The stadium broke ground on 5 March 2013 and is planned to finish in mid-June 2016. The stadium was set to open on 26 March 2016, during Iranian traditional ceremonies of Nowruz, but was postponed.

Structure and facilities

Inside of the stadium under construction, 2 August 2015

The stadium's roof is being built by a French company that has worked in London Olympic Stadium and some of 2014 FIFA World Cup venues. The stadium seats were supplied by Daplast, a Spanish company. The company is being contract with Real Madrid. The natural grass and tartan track along the side is in the hands of a German company. The company also has contracts with several large stadiums in Germany.

14 halls under the platforms of the stadium are ready for operation. The car park with a capacity of 5000 cars are being built.

The stadium has a Grade A in Asia by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Previously, the only Azadi Stadium in Tehran has been grade A among stadiums in Iran.

Two gymnastics halls for men and women, Two gyms, martial arts, table tennis, games, educational, health and beauty, as well as conference halls, museums and treasures of fame sports, conference hall, medical clinic, buffet and natural turf soccer fields are among the other facilities in the complex.[6] There will be a clinic and boarding permanent collection also 2 well-equipped gym separately for men and women, equipped with the best brands. The cost of the gyms were 11 billion Iranian Rial.

Development

Operations, including excavation and concrete structure, were set in a three-phase schedule, The first phase included excavation operations and the implementation of the concrete skeleton on the east side. The second phase of the project included construction of the northern concrete skeleton. The final concrete structures will be constructed at the end of the third phase of the project. The sport halls of the first and second phases are nearing completion.

Transport Connections

Stadium view from Ferdowsi Boulevard

Imam Reza Stadium is situated in the eastern part of Mashhad. The stadium is between two Mashhad Metro stations, Khayyam station and Azadi station. Khayyam stations is nearest by 5 minutes. The stadium is also located in the Line 2 of Mashhad Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The nearest BRT stations is number 22 and 23 stations. The stadium has 20 kilometers distance to Mashhad International Airport that can be traveled with either Metro, BRT or Taxi.

Stations near by:

Service Station Line
Mashhad Metro Khayyam Station Vakilabad ↔ Ghadir
Azadi Station Airport ↔ Shohada
Mashhad BRT L2S22 Vakilabad ↔ Haram
L2S23 Vakilabad ↔ Haram
Mashhad Monorail Ferdowsi Station (under construction) Vakilabad ↔ Haram
Stadium under construction in 2012

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Imam Reza Stadium.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.