100,000-seater stadium half-done and abandoned after relegation and £220bn debt

Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande had big dreams back in April 2020.

They aimed to build a giant new stadium, which could hold a capacity crowd of 100,000 fans. However, over three years later, the half-built ground is in ruins, and cranes now stand abandoned over the structure.

So where did it all go wrong for a side that once attracted such names as Brazilian megastars Robinho and Paulinho?

Guangzhou Evergrande were at the centre of the Chinese footballing boom in the 2010s, and, between 2011 and 2017, they won seven consecutive league titles.

READ MORE: English football's 10 most unique grounds – from speedway track to 'Tesco trolley stand'

Sky Sports is bringing you 500 live football games to watch, as well access to Cricket, Golf, F1, Boxing, NFL, NBA and more across eight dedicated channels. Sky Sports is the only way to watch all the action this year.

£22 a month

The Evergrande Group, one of China’s largest property developers and owners of the club, saw fit to commission a new mega-stadium with their side's success.

And even the ongoing coronavirus pandemic wasn't enough to stop the development starting in April 2020.

What do you think of the stadium? Let us know in the comments section

The idea behind the stadium was to make it look like a lotus flower, playing off Guangzhou's reputation as the city of flowers.

However, the most impressive part of the stadium was its mega capacity, which would hold 10,000 more than Wembley. Guangzhou's stadium would even surpass the biggest stadium in Europe, the Camp Nou.

It was set to become one of the most envied stadiums on the planet – until the Evergrande Group ran into financial trouble during the Chinese financial crash, which also led to the downfall of the Chinese Super League.

Evergrande's debts continued to sky rocket, which were thought to total a massive £220billion. This saw any progression of the stadium hit a brick wall, leading to the abandoned mess of concrete that is there to this day.

The financial trouble also affected the club – now known just as Guangzhou FC – and they were relegated from the top division.

In November 2021, the stadium was seized by the Chinese government, with plans to sell the incomplete stadium to another company. However, in mid-2022, the project was cancelled.

What has been built of the stadium will now be auctioned off and the grand vision will never be fulfilled.

Source: Read Full Article