English soccer side Forest Green Rovers has been given the green light to build its Ecopark Stadium, which is to be the world’s first all-wood soccer stadium.
Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the new 5,000-seater facility (with potential to rise to 10,000) in Gloucestershire, UK, will lay claim to be one of the most environmentally friendly and conscious sports venues ever built with low carbon construction methods and operational processes. With the aim of Ecopark Stadium to be carbon neutral or possibly carbon-negative depending on the on-site renewable energy generation, almost every element of the wood building material will be from sustainably sourced timber.
The stadium’s main structure, roof cantilevers, and louvered cladding is to be built from timber, which is a highly durable and recyclable building material.
The stadium will serve as the centerpiece of a £100m (US$131m) 100-acre Eco Park development, which will also incorporate grass and all-weather training pitches, a green technology business park and a nature reserve.
Forest Green Rovers Football Club has been flying its environmental flag in recent years with it also being the first vegan soccer club, which serves specialized vegan menus to its athletes, staff and fans.
The club’s chairman, Dale Vince, has said that it is expected that the build will take approximately three years to complete from the time the approval has been given.
