Chinese Government takes control of half-complete Guangzhou Stadium project from struggling Evergrande Football

Financial troubles affecting real estate giant the Evergrande Group have seen a Chinese Government body assume control of the under construction Guangzhou Evergrande Football Stadium project - touted as the largest football stadium in the world.

According to local media, the site of the half-finished 100,000 seat venue has been reclaimed by the local government and will be auctioned off.

Evergrande, which was once China's top-selling property developer, has been struggling to meet repayments on over US$300 billion in debt.

The Guangzhou Stadium, valued at US$1.9 billion, was one of the Group’s flagship projects, with the lotus leaf-shaped venue making headlines for its eye-catching design and scale when it was announced in April last year.

When ground was broken on the stadium in 2020, Evergrande Vice-Chairman Xia Haijun, said it would “become a new world-class landmark comparable to the Sydney Opera House and Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and an important symbol of Chinese football to the world”.

At the time, Evergrande also said it was planning another three to five, 80,000 to 100,000-seat stadiums in the country.

Now authorities have taken over the project with a view to selling it or acquiring it via the state-owned Guangzhou City Construction Investment Group.

Amid reports that work on the venue had halted earlier this year, in September, Evergrande said work on the stadium was proceeding “as normal”.

Owning more than 1,300 projects in more than 280 cities across China, Evergrande was once China's top-selling property developer but is now struggling to repay creditors and suppliers.

It pulled back from the brink of default in the past month, leaving investors concerned as to whether it can meet obligations to pay an overdue coupon worth US$82.5 million before a 30-day grace period expires on 6th December.

It has also been suggested the debt-laden group could sell Guangzhou FC, which has won the Chinese Super League eight times since being acquired by Evergrande in 2010.

Guangzhou FC coach Fabio Cannavaro, Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning captain, departed the club in September 2021 as the club’s owners’ problems became apparent.

Since August, an Evergrande-owned football school has laid off over 100 staff due to liquidity constraints, said a person close to the school and a person with direct knowledge of the lay-off situation. Both declined to be identified due to sensitivity of the matter.

Images: Design concepts for the Guangzhou Evergrande Football Stadium.