Rebuilt Beijing Workers’ Stadium hosts capacity crowd as fans return to China stadia

The Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium has hosted its first football match since undergoing a major rebuild, with a crowd of 50,000 attending the Chinese Super League (CSL) game between Beijing Guoan and Meizhou Hakka at the weekend.

With Saturday marking the opening weekend of China’s top tier football competition, CSL fixtures were also able to welcome fans at matches for the first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

Reports indicate that a sold out capacity crowd filled the rebuilt venue, which, since August 2020 had undergone a major program of renovation and reconstruction.

As one of the 10 major projects to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Beijing Workers' Stadium, known locally as Gongti, was designed and constructed in the then-eastern suburb of Beijing in 1959, becoming China's biggest multi-functional sporting complex at that time.

During subsequent decades, the venue staged a number of domestic and international events, including China's inaugural National Games, events at the 2008 Olympic Games, the 1990 Asian Games and became home to Beijing Guoan in 1996.

Rebuilt within its former external façade design but with an all-new interior, the Stadium, which no longer features an athletics track, is the Chinese capital's first football-specific venue. Now featuring a state-of-the-art LED lighting system and two giant screens hanging at the north and south ends of the stands, it also boasts an innovative cooling system that helps players and spectators beat the heat that comes with the peak of Beijing summer.

Commenting on the rebuild, Song Peng, Vice General Manager of Sinobo Gongti which oversees the rebuilding program, told China's Global Times "the stadium carries memories from generation to generation.

"The principle for rebuilding is to keep the exteriors unchanged but have the interior facility modernised."

The rebuilding of the venue was to have seen it to host games for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, which was to be held in China. However, the Chinese Football Association conceded the hosting rights in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic that hampered the preparation of the tournament.

Designed to serve as a year-round destination capable of hosting sport and entertainment events, access to the Beijing Workers' Stadium is set to be improved through a train station that will provide a direct connection to the venue.

Song went on to advise that “the surrounding area will be established as a city park”, adding that the 30,000-square-metre lake toward the south side of the stadium will remain in place.

A skate park and other exercise facilities will also be placed in the area as well as a shopping mall, this landmark building of the city is deemed to restore its pride and again become a vitality hub.

The weekend’s opening CSL fixtures marked the start of a restored home-and-away season format, which marks the 30th year of the professional era of Chinese football.

Images: The rebuilt Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium. Credit: Sinobo Gongti.