Thursday, June 11, 2015
Kuwait's White Eelephant Stadium
(CNN)It
was built to be Kuwait's definitive sporting landmark -- a palatial
replica of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium located in an actual emirate.
But
since its completion back in 2007, Kuwait's 60,000 capacity Jaber
Al-Ahmad International Stadium has been little more than a vacant white
elephant.
In stark contrast to the many
ex-Olympic and World Cup sporting landmarks that have gone derelict
following a fleeting crowd rush, the national stadium of this Gulf Arab
monarchy of roughly four million has only ever hosted one senior level
match since opening.
The curious lack of activity has
turned the mammoth steel structure into a symbol of bureaucracy and a
penchant for silence on hot topics in the region. Whispers on the
culpability of the stadium's closure have been plentiful (mainly to do
with structural problems), while definitive public statements have been
scarce.
"It's a sad story; it's a work
of art," Louay Al-Kharafi, a board member of Kharafi Group, the
industrial conglomerate tasked with building the stadium, told CNN from
his office in downtown Kuwait City.
Kharafi Group won the bid to build the stadium back in 2004 for a relatively paltry $189 million
(by contrast, Emirates Stadium in London was completed in 2006 for $650
million). The company operates in over 25 countries and had a hand in
the build out of South Africa's 2010 World Cup.
"Nothing
structural is wrong with the stadium," said Al-Kharafi, while remaining
adamant that no construction errors were committed by his team, nor had
they ever faced any lawsuits over the construction of the stadium
levied by the government. In fact, he said, the stadium has been ready
to go all along.
"It's simple; if there is a fault in the structure, just ask the contractor to fix it," he added. "No one asked."
Yet there has been open talk
in Kuwait since November 6, 2010 when 58,604 people filled the grounds
to watch the final of the 2010 Asian Federation Cup (won by Syrian club
Al-Ittihad -- still the only officially sanctioned match ever played on
the pitch) that a few of the stadium's support columns had been
cracking.
In January, CNN visited Jaber
Al Ahmad Stadium and had a tour of its facilities, led by Khalid
Bonashi, the stadium's security chief whose glass-paneled office offers
dramatic field-level views of the architectural gem, designed to
resemble a traditional dhow fishing boat from a distance.
With
a bright blue sky overlooking the pitch, empty seats fanned across the
horizon, save for the odd maintenance crew member. A fervent Arsenal
supporter, Bonashi recalled his tour of Emirates Stadium in north
London, when he paid special attention to features like its public
announcement system, digitally triggered turnstiles, and luxurious
directors' box.
Back in Kuwait, Bonashi
added enhancements of his own, including a phone ticketing application,
rail bars in front of each level of seating to tackle crowd control
(not uncommon in Europe), as well as a grand VIP concourse complete with
a golf-cart custom ordered from the United States to roll dignitaries
onto the pitch for special occasions.
The
original drawings called for an elevator to descend the cart onto
ground level from the VIP hall, however, despite the presence of a
large-enough shaft, the plan was scraped.
Although
he may not have been privy to investigative results, Bonashi considered
the facility safe enough to host matches at the time, maintaining that
rumors were at fault for crowds avoiding a February 2013 stadium-hosted
attempt to break the Guinness World Record for a human flag.
The stadium has been closed to the public ever since.
Indeed,
on that brisk winter day, everything in the stadium -- from the
perfectly manicured natural grass, to the fine sand on the athletics
long jump box, to the clear water in the hydro-therapy pool, and the
sparkling blue carpeting in the VIP box -- looked immaculate.
While
touring the complex, two cracks underneath the pedestrian walkway that
circles the stadium were pointed out. It was clear that the columns had
been worked on, perhaps to test their strength, and subsequently
fortified. Whether those columns were at fault for the stadium's closure
-- or whether something else was to blame -- was entirely unclear,
however.
"We've examined those
cracks," said Al-Kharafi. "We broke down the cracks (to check) the steel
and it's sound and safe." Al-Kharafi noted that structural integrity
tests were carried out with the cooperation of government agencies, and
that they had all passed. CNN was not able to verify the test results.
# posted by Me @ 1:10 PM 
