As the world watches with excitement the extraordinary feats of the ongoing Olympic Games, the spotlight also falls on the arenas where athletes' dreams come true. BESIX stands at the forefront of this market segment, with a strong legacy of expertise in building world-class sports venues, ensuring each stadium, arena, and complex is a place where athletes can perform at their best.
Decades of global experience
In the Middle East, our portfolio boasts impressive venues like the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), a 60,000-seat world-class EPC project, that included a 500-person mosque, two external football pitches, and six tennis courts.
In Qatar, we designed and built the 40,000-seater Al Janoub Stadium, an area of more than 580,000 m² and one of the 8 stadiums that hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In Qatar, we also renovated and expanded the iconic Khalifa Stadium to include state-of-the-art services and a sports museum. We designed and built in just over a year and a half the 300-metre Aspire Tower next to the stadium, which was to hold the Olympic Flame of the 2006 Asian Games.
Recently, BESIX Middle East has started the construction of the 46,200-seat Dammam Stadium which will be ready for the 2027 Asian Football Confederation Cup within a challenging 29-month timeline.
Our expertise in sports venues extends to Australia and New Zealand. In 2020, BESIX Watpac delivered the 25,000-seat Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville, Australia.
In Geelong, Victoria, in the Southeast of Australia, BESIX Watpac is also redeveloping the Kardinia Park Stadium with a new northern grandstand, increasing the seating capacity by 14,000 to 40,000, a sports museum, and an indoor cricket centre. In New Zealand, BESIX Watpac is currently building a multi-use 30,000-seat fully covered arena in Canterbury. This stadium will host major sporting contests and international concerts once complete.
Small is beautiful
Our affiliates in Belgium also excel in sports facilities. Jacques Delens recently started the construction of a new multi-sports hall in Brussels, which will accommodate activities including handball, volleyball, basketball, hockey, badminton, and mini-soccer, with particular attention to acoustics and energy performance, like airtightness and rainwater management. In the Northeast of Belgium, Vanhout delivered a cutting-edge velodrome in Heusden-Zolder, a sports complex featuring a wooden cycling track and four sports fields, a top-notch gymnasium, and a medical centre that serves not only the velodrome but also the famous Zolder circuit.
Vanhout is also currently building a completely CO2 neutral and highly insulated sustainable swimming pool complex in Bredene. The pool will operate with only half the energy consumption of a traditional pool thanks to geothermal energy. What's more, the roof will do double duty by acting as a massive solar panel, thus further reducing the swimming pool’s environmental footprint. Last year, Wust inaugurated the renovated municipal swimming pool of the thermal city of Spa, which meets the latest energy standards thanks to its enhanced insulation, along with photovoltaic and solar panels.