Where the crowd comes in: the Prix Versailles Most Beautiful Arenas 2026 list

Beneath the 90-metre roof, a ribbon-wall envelope twists to follow the geometry of the track, so the building presents a different silhouette from every angle. The centre also includes the Peter Hemingway Aquatic Centre, making it a training base for triathletes. It sits in a park named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.

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Designed by Central-South Architectural Design Institute (CSADI), the 30,000-seat stadium in Hubei Province is set amid greenery and open to the local community. A white canopy unfurls in a continuous ribbon over the grandstands, its form inspired by the rhythm of the Han River and the image of a soaring Chu phoenix. 

The canopy covers the stands but leaves the south side open, letting air flow through the structure. This bioclimatic approach keeps spectators comfortable while minimising the use of energy-intensive systems. The stadium sits within a 138,000-square-metre sports complex that includes facilities for everyday public fitness.

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Also known as the Stade de Furiani, the Corsican stadium has been in use since 1932. It was home to SC Bastia when the club reached the UEFA Cup final in 1978, and the events of 1992 remain part of football’s collective memory. In 2025, Ateliers A+ completed a renovation that opens the stadium to the surrounding mountains and sea. 

Three continuous rings unify the 16,500-seat terraces, which were built in stages. The first ring edges the bowl around the pitch and houses the lighting, the second carries the canopies, and the third encircles the outer enclosure. The envelope extends the stadium’s existing wooden framework, bringing its successive transformations together in a single structure. The stadium has also been adapted to current entry and broadcasting requirements.

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Inaugurated as Arena Milano for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, the Unipol Dome is Italy’s biggest indoor venue. David Chipperfield Architects and Arup based the design on the Roman amphitheatre. Three rings of increasing height appear to float above a monolithic podium. By day, the aluminium tubes on the rings shimmer in the sun; at night, built-in LED strips turn the exterior into a light display.

The arena holds up to 16,000 spectators. A wide staircase leads to a 12,000-square-metre raised esplanade that can host anything from major events to everyday gatherings. Set among mineral surfaces and gardens in the new Santa Giulia district, the arena has become a new centrepiece for Milan.

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Rebuilt by Populous in 24 months, the 67,000-seat stadium will be one of Morocco’s venues when the country co-hosts the 2030 World Cup. It rises from a green belt of eucalyptus. Its golden envelope was inspired by the palm trees lining Rabat’s major thoroughfares and by traditional Fez embroidery. Some 19,000 champagne-coloured triangles of different sizes join the facade and canopy in one continuous surface, which turns into an animated screen at night.

The same colours carry through to the reception areas inside. The monumental terraces, or kops, seat around 20,000 supporters, and their top level projects 8 metres outwards. The stadium was well received during the most recent Africa Cup of Nations.

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Also known as Ibn Batouta Stadium, the ground first opened in 2011. It was then transformed under architect Anouar Amaoui in preparation for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 FIFA World Cup. With 75,500 seats, it is now Morocco’s biggest stadium. Removing the old athletics track and lowering the pitch by about 8 metres brought the terraces closer to the field of play.

The project also added a 52,000-square-metre canopy designed with engineers from Schlaich Bergermann Partner. It combines metal cables with flexible membranes and shelters the terraces and pitch from the wind. After dark, the stadium’s lighting picks out the outline of its architecture. The ground is home to Ittihad Riadi, in the city known as the Bride of the North.

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Inaugurated in April 2026, the 30,000-seat stadium was designed by Populous and Warren & Mahoney, with a fixed roof of transparent ETFE. Its visual language draws on the landscapes of Canterbury and on Māori culture. The facade references mountains, waterways and the colours of the changing seasons. Inside the seating bowl, the stands carry a pattern based on the mangōpare, the hammerhead shark, a symbol of New Zealand’s identity, power and perseverance.

The project was developed in close partnership with Ngāi Tahu and was inspired by the ancestral story of how Tāne separated Sky Father from Earth Mother to bring light and warmth to the world. The stadium is home to the Crusaders and sometimes hosts the All Blacks.

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