The 2022 FIFA World Cup was unique as the first FIFA tournament held in the Middle East. In another first, the FIFA World Cup, historically held between June and July, was moved to November and December, in view of Qatar’s 40˚C+ climate during the summer months. Even during the cooler months, Qatar’s average temperature reaches 26˚C. Combining this with the heat emitted by tightly packed spectators would at times have made the experience uncomfortable. As a result, Qatar air-conditioned eight of the nine open-air football stadiums – a significant challenge which was overcome through innovative design, technology and architecture and by utilizing spot cooling; and a complex undertaking when it is also important to maintain sustainability credentials.
To effectively cool the stadiums, the most crucial challenge was to prevent or at least reduce the hot air from outside coming into the stadium, which was achieved through the stadiums’ design and architecture.
The Role of Thermal insulation
The role of thermal insulation was extremely important in ensuring ambient temperatures within stadiums. Systems such as EIFS (Exterior Insulation Finishing System) are essential to ensure that external façades efficiently regulate the temperature within the internal air-conditioned rooms, such as press conference rooms, executive boxes, suites, dressing rooms, and training, medical and ancillary areas.
This is because insulation systems greatly reduce the rate of energy loss transfer from the rooms through the external walls. Using thermal insulation with the innovative design in Qatar’s stadiums ensured huge saving on energy running costs, and just as importantly, the knock-on effect is the consequential reduction in C02 emissions.
Designers in the Middle East and similar regions have the option of using EIFS, an ideal energy-saving, external cladding solution, according to Terraco Group, a global producer of environmentally friendly finishing materials and systems.
The Terraco EIFS System is a certified, class-leading, sustainable system which allows for flexibility in the design of the façade with a large range of finishing coat options specifically tailored for the climate in the Middle East. Designers also have the option of Terraco’s Terralite range of stone coating finishes, often specified as a cost-effective, easy to install alternative to real stone.
According to Terraco, its internationally certified and market-leading Terraco EIFS Perma system can provide up to 50% reductions of cooling energy demand in buildings. These reductions, which are effective over the lifetime of a building, makes Terraco EIFS Perma ideal for insulating structures like sports stadiums and other projects which need to be future-proofed as part of a long-term legacy plan.
The Popularity of Stadium Construction and Renovation
Across the Premier League, Spanish La Liga and Ligue 1, various football teams are pursuing new projects or renovations of old facilities for an estimated investment figure that is likely to exceed 2.5 billion euros. Real Madrid’s Bernabéu stadium is currently undergoing a long-delayed $600 million stadium revamp while Manchester United is currently considering options to revamp its Old Trafford football stadium.
Sports stadiums amongst countries within Europe, the US and South America are a driving force for the local economies of cities. They are able to requalify deserted areas of the city and create new jobs within the region. These were the reasons that led Everton to finalize the stadium that will soon be replacing Goodison Park, the home of the Toffees since 1892, after 25 years of planning and work. The new stadium, which cost 600 million euros, will be built on the banks of the Mersey River and will be able to accommodate up to 52,000 spectators. According to the estimates of the Liverpool club, this new structure will provide a new impetus to city life by creating up to 15 thousand new jobs and subsequent increased revenue streams.
Terraco was previously involved with the revamp of another Merseyside stadium, the iconic Anfield stadium in the UK, home of Liverpool FC where Terraco Addagrip provided BBA-approved Terrabound resin bound porous surfacing system for 2,000 m2 area of the project.
Terraco Addagrip was also involved recently in resurfacing almost 3,000 m2 area of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, where they removed the old failing surface dressing and applied the new Stonebound Resin Bound Gravel in a bespoke blend created specifically for the Park which offered a decorative, hard wearing paving to withstand the expected volumes of traffic.
Terraco is also a proud partner in the development of a new sports stadium in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria which will be hosting the upcoming African Championship in 2023 and will be one of the biggest stadiums in Africa with a seating capacity of over 50,000. Terraco applied Handycoat Interior and Handycoat Exterior across 42,000 square meters of the stadium.
Terraco’s expertise in renovation and retrofit has made them a partner and supplier for owners, designers and operators, with a wide range of products that are ideal for stadium renovation projects. In addition to the EIFS systems, they also offer finishing systems, fillers and repair compounds that stand the test of time when applied for new as well as renovation projects. These are solutions for the increasing requirement for energy efficiency and exceptional aesthetics in both new build and existing sports infrastructure.