Stadium 974 (Arabic:استاد ٩٧٤,romanized: ʾIstād 974, previously known asRas Abu Aboud Stadium) is afootball stadium inRas Abu Aboud,Doha, Qatar, about 10km east of Doha.[2] Officially opened on 30 November 2021, Stadium 974 was the first planned temporary venue inFIFA World Cup history.
The stadium hosted test matches during theFIFA Arab Cup 2021 and was a landmark venue during theFIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The legacy plans involved dismantling the stadium and moving it to Africa or South America, and the former site to be transformed with a waterfront development. However as of February 2025, this has not happened and the stadium currently still sits in its original site.[3] Recently the venue was used for the2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and for the2024 Trophée des Champions final.[4]
Created by Spain's Fenwick Iribarren Architects in collaboration withSchlaich Bergermann Partner and Hilson Moran, this stadium utilised repurposed shipping containers and recycled steel, resulting in cost-effective construction and reduced waste.[5][6] Constructed on a 450,000 square-metre (111-acre) waterfront site, it has amodular design and incorporates 974 recycledshipping containers in homage to the site's strategic location, industrial history and theinternational dialing code for Qatar (+974).[7]
The construction of the stadium involved HBK Contracting Company (HBK),[8] DCB-QA, Time Qatar, Fenwick Iribarren Architects (FI-A),[9]Schlaich Bergermann Partner and Hilson Moran.[10][11] Fenwick Iribarren Architects said "the idea was to avoid building a "white elephant", a stadium that is left unused or underused after the tournament ends, as happened following previous World Cups."[12]
The stadium is one of eight stadiums built, renovated or reconstructed for the 'FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022'.[13] The procurement process for the stadium conversion began in 2017.
The stadium was initially announced under the nameRas Abu Aboud Stadium. During a launch event on 20 November 2021, the venue was officially renamed Stadium 974.[7]
It was planned that the re-assembled stadium would be transported to a future Host Country nation. It was initially committed to go toMaldonado, Uruguay, where it would be used for the2030 FIFA World Cup with the vacated land used by the stadium being turned into a waterfront development. However theUruguay–Argentina–Chile–Paraguay bid did not succeed.[17][18][19] Other plans were floated to transport the Stadium to an African nation. However in November 2023, ESPN reported that the stadium is still standing in its original site with its World Cup signage still intact.[20] In December 2024, the stadium hosted two matches of the2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup.[21]