Chinese real estate company Evergrande Group broke ground on what it claims will be the world’s largest professional football stadium, with the venue in Guangzhou to be followed by a further three to five stadia with capacities of between 80,000 and 100,000.
The new stadium will be home to Evergrande Group’s Chinese Super League (CSL) club, Guangzhou Evergrande, with the company stating it will accommodate up to 100,000 people.
Construction work on the YTL Arena complex in the English city of Bristol was granted the ability to proceed after the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government chose not to call in the decision to grant approval for the project.
Brazilian Serie A football club Atlético Mineiro began groundwork on its new 46,000-seat stadium, Arena MRV. The stadium will replace the Estádio Independência as Atlético’s home ground and is expected to take around two and a half years to build.
In the business sphere, the split of Madison Square Garden Company’s sports and entertainment assets was completed, with a new MSG Entertainment company having officially been formed. The NBA struck a multi-year partnership with Microsoft, a move the league said would “redefine” the fan experience, both in-arena and at home.
In Europe, it was announced that Deutsche Bank would replace fellow German financial services company Commerzbank as the stadium naming rights partner of Bundesliga football club Eintracht Frankfurt.
In the events world, Wimbledon was this month’s headline COVID-19 victim with the tennis grand slam cancelled for the first time since World War Two after organisers conceded that the challenges presented by the pandemic were insurmountable.
Staying in the UK, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that its highly-anticipated new competition, The Hundred, will debut in the summer of 2021 and not this year as originally planned.
World Athletics announced that its World Championships in Eugene, Oregon will now take place from July 15-24, 2022, a year later than originally scheduled.
Image: Evergrande Group
