 The stadium in 2008 | |
 Interactive map of Workers' Stadium | |
| Location | Chaoyang, Beijing, China |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°55′46.3″N116°26′28.1″E / 39.929528°N 116.441139°E /39.929528; 116.441139 |
| Owner | All-China Federation of Trade Unions |
| Operator | Sinobo Group |
| Capacity | 65,094 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1959 |
| Renovated | 2001, 2004, 2008, 2010–2011 |
| Closed | August 2020 |
| Demolished | 2020 |
| Architect | Beijing Institute of Architectural Design[1] |
| Structural engineer | Beijing Construction Engineering Group |
| Tenants | |
| Beijing Guoan (1996–2005, 2009–2019) China national football team (until 2020) | |
| Website | |
| gongti.com.cn | |
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| Workers' Stadium | |||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 工人体育场 | ||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 工人體育場 | ||||||||||||
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The originalWorkers' Stadium (工人体育场; often abbreviated asGongti or工体) was amulti-purpose stadium inChaoyang,Beijing, China. The stadium was built in 1959, and was renovated in 2004 (the concrete structure strengthened, a new rotating display screen and energy-saving devices installed). The stadium was demolished in 2020 and reopened under the same name on 15 April 2023 as anew stadium built on the original site.[2][3][4] It had a capacity of 65,094 and covered a land area of 350,000 square metres (3,800,000 sq ft). It was one of theTen Great Buildings constructed in 1959 for the tenth anniversary of thePeople's Republic of China.
The stadium was the main venue for the1990 Asian Games, where the opening and closing ceremonies were held. Some high attendance matches of theBeijing Guo'an football club are held at the stadium. In 1993, the stadium was host to a slew ofworld records set by the world-leading group of Chinese distance runners at the seventh edition of the Chinese National Games, the most famous being international stars and world championsWang Junxia andQu Yunxia, who had dominated the 1993 World Championships a month before.
The stadium holds claim to the fastest women's1500 m time ever recorded of 3:50.46, the fastest women's3000 m of 8:06.11 and the fastest women's10,000 m of 29:31.78. These world records still stand today and are arguably the stadium's biggest claim to fame.[5] The next year, the stadium was partially demolished and renovated as part of China's bid for the2000 Summer Olympics, which ultimately failed. The stadium continued to be the main Beijing sports into the 21st century, being the2001 Summer Universiade and theGrand Final venue of2004 AFC Asian Cup.
After Beijing became the host of the2008 Summer Olympics in July 2001 which the stadium was originally intended as the Olympic Stadium,but after theBeijing National Stadium was built, the venue was relegated to a secondary roll.But, hosted the football quarter-finals and semi-finals, and the women's gold medal final. The stadium was scheduled to host the first everNFL game played in China, a preseason game between theSeattle Seahawks and theNew England Patriots on 8 August 2007. However, theChina Bowl was canceled in April 2007. The reasons given were that the NFL wanted to devote all its resources to the scheduled regular season game between theMiami Dolphins and theNew York Giants, to be played inLondon on 28 October 2007.
The stadium was the host for the 2009Barclays Asia Trophy between 29 and 31 July 2009, featuringBeijing Guoan, andPremier League clubsTottenham Hotspur,West Ham United andHull City. It also hostedFC Bayern Munich's pre-season China Tour of 2012, during which theBundesliga club had a friendly match withBeijing Guoan. The areas north (Sanlitun), east, and west of the stadium are popular nightlife destinations. Thexi men (West Gate) offers a strip of nightclubs. TheWorkers Indoor Arena is located to the west of the stadium. The stadium has been used for concerts as well. Global superstarMariah Carey began her sold-out five-show Chinese tour at the Workers Stadium, and Linkin Park playedThe Hunting Party Tour at 26 July 2015 in front of an audience of 60,000.[6]
On 4 January 2020, Workers' Stadium was announced as a host venue for the2023 AFC Asian Cup.[7] However, on 14 May 2022,AFC announced that China would not be able to host the tournament due to the exceptional circumstances caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic.[8]
After finishing the2019 season,Beijing Guoan moved its home stadium theBeijing Fengtai Stadium for three years while renovations ahead of the tournament took place.[9] The engineering firm of the rebuild project isBeijing Construction Engineering Group.
Media related toBeijing Workers Stadium at Wikimedia Commons
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | SummerUniversiade Main venue 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | AFC Asian Cup Final venue 2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Summer Olympics Women's football gold medal match venue 2008 | Succeeded by |
