Al Bayt Stadium
A 68,000-seat stadium in Al Khor, 35 km north of Doha, shaped like the black-and-white tent of Qatari nomads — and the ground where the 2022 World Cup kicked off.
Key facts
Design
The form comes straight from the bayt al sha’ar, the goat-hair tent that stood for hospitality in the desert; the black-and-white banding on the exterior repeats the pattern of those historic dwellings. Inside, the seating carries Al Sadu weaving motifs, a nod to Bedouin textile craft. A retractable roof closes over the bowl and an advanced cooling system holds the temperature, both feeding a Class A rating from the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS). Dar Al-Handasah designed it with the Aspire Foundation.
Events
Al Bayt opened on 30 November 2021 with the FIFA Arab Cup, where it staged four matches. A year later it hosted the opening match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 — Qatar against Ecuador, the first whistle of the tournament — and went on through the knockout rounds to a semi-final.
Video tour
LedPlayMeter at this venue
This ground is one of the five professional football venues in Qatar licensed to run their pitchside LED advertising with LedPlayMeter. The venues are going live in stages, delivered together with Techno Q, one of the Gulf region’s leading audio-visual systems integrators.
Other venues
Stadium facts and video: Visit Qatar ↗ — LedPlayMeter is an independent software product and is not affiliated with the venues, clubs, federations or organisations named on this page.