8 | SPORTS VENUES 2023/24 www.stadiaworld.com INTRO Picture: STADIAWORLD BBBank Wildpark: The big Liverpool FC came for the opening game. In the city of Valencia a new multipurpose arena is being built. the SAP Garden is finally scheduled to open in 2024. The BBBank Wildpark in Karlsruhe has already opened. On 19 July, the Liverpool FC came to Baden for the opening match. The Karlsruher SC had to admit defeat with 2:4. However, the loss did not dampen the joy about the opening of the stadium. The Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro also got a new stadium. In April 2023, the club’s own MRV Arena in Belo Horizonte was opened after almost exactly three years of construction. The stadium cost the equivalent of just under 180 million euros and has space for about 48,000 visitors. The new home of Linzer ASK offers considerably less space. With a capacity of 19,080, the Raiffeisen Arena is still one of the largest stadiums in Austria. Reason enough for the Austrian Football Association to play national team matches in Linz. However, it is not the only stadium opened in Linz in 2023. With the Hofmann Personal Stadium, city rival Blau-Weiß Linz received a new sporting home, too. The Valencia Basket Club still has to wait for such. The opening of the Roig Arena, which will host concerts, shows, cultural and art events in addition to the Spanish first division club’s home games, is planned for 2024. In addition to the stadiums and arenas just mentioned, numerous other venues will see the light of day in the coming year. For example, Co-op Live in Manchester, the largest arena in the UK, is scheduled to open after a oneyear delay. In Hong Kong, the opening of the Kai Tak Sports Park, including a stadium and an arena, is planned, and in Liverpool, the new stadium of Everton FC is to be opened. Even though millions of euros are being spent on refurbishing and upgrading existing infrastructure in many places, there are still also many new stadiums and arenas that can then say “hello venue world”. Two new stadiums for Linz – here: the Raiffeisen Arena. Picture: imago/Daniel Scharinger Picture: Roig Arena
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