World’s weirdest stadium bigger than Elland Road ‘like fortress from a James Bond film’ never ended up being built
IT LOOKED like a lair fit for a Bond villain.
But it was in fact ambitious plans for a football stadium inside a MOUNTAIN.
United Arab Emirates side Al-Ain had a design made up for the Rock Stadium that would be situated in the Jebel Hafeet mountain.
MZ Architects had originally wanted to build the ground in the desert but after a visit to the mountain changed their mind.
The location is a popular tourist spot 14 miles south of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi city Al-Ain.
The architecture firm was reminded of an Ancient Greek amphitheatre by the location and drew up some innovative ideas.
The Rock Stadium was designed to have a cave-like entrance and to be sunken into the ground.
It would have also featured seats carved out of the natural hills for the visiting spectators.
The roof of the ground would have been modelled after desert hills.
Materials for its construction would have come from the excavated area to make it more sustainable.
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The stadium was estimated to have been able to hold up to 40,000 fans.
This would have made it a bigger capacity ground than the likes of Elland Road, Hillsborough Stadium and The City Ground.
The Rock Stadium’s concept designs drew comparisons to that of a villain’s “secret fortress in a James Bond movie”.
However, the ground has not been constructed, and its future is uncertain.
There is no scheduled date for the building to start according to Bloomberg.
Despite being no closer to being created the designs have earned multiple awards.
Incredibly, it looks even more ambitious than these AI creations of future homes for the Premier League.