Stadium 974 is one of the more talked about World Cup venues. Now, it faces deconstruction and transplant to a new location. The stadium is the first temporary stadium in World Cup history, and it marks a new age in soccer architecture.

Builders used 974 recyclable shipping containers to construct it. The number lends its name from Qatar’s international dialing code. Construction only started in 2018, a full year after other Qatari stadiums began construction.

Conservatism was the main factor when officials began planning the stadium. FIFA reports that the stadium uses 40% less water compared to traditional stadium. Also, AP said Stadium 974 can have a lower carbon footprint depending on how far the stadium travels in use.

Fenwick Iribarren Architects, the chief planner for Stadium 974, said that its main purpose was to avoid a white elephant, or a ground that does not get used after a World Cup.

The legacy of Stadium 974

Despite its innovative design, Stadium 974 received a lot of backlash on social media for its obnoxiously bright colors and rather quick construction time.

This monstrosity of a stadium looks like it’s straight out of Junk Junction. Stadium 974 has the same energy as a procrastinated school project done the night before it’s due that features a trifold bought from Michael’s five minutes before the store closed.

The18’s David Moore

After opening its gates during the FIFA Arab Cup in 2021, it hosted six matches, including a semifinal match between Tunisia and Egypt that pulled over 36,000 excited fans.

Stadium 974’s involvement in the World Cup was significant although it hosted just seven matches. It was the battleground between a fiery Switzerland-Serbia matchup, it witnessed Argentina beat Poland, and it hosted Brazil’s rout over South Korea.

During the World Cup, spectators pointed out that Stadium 974 is the only stadium without air conditioning, which is brutal for fans and players facing the humid Qatari heat.

The stadium wrapped up its seven World Cup matches. Consequently, builders begin deconstruction on the arena. Many estimate the 974 shipping containers are going to either an African or South American country. As of now, no one knows the destination for the World Cup stadium.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Matthias Koch