The Al-Saada Stadium ( ar, أستاد السعادة), also known as Al-Saada Sports Complex ( ar, مجمع السعادة الرياضي) is a government owned multi-use
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in the Al-Saada district of
Salalah,
Oman. The stadium is used only for
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
matches and is the home stadium of Salalah-based clubs
Dhofar, and
Al-Nasr
Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yellow ...
. The stadium has originally had a capacity of an estimated 12,000 people, but due to renovation in 2010 the stadium became an
all-seater
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football an ...
decreasing the maximum capacity to an estimated 8-9,000
spectator
''Spectator'' or ''The Spectator'' may refer to:
*Spectator sport, a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches
*Audience
Publications Canada
* ''The Hamilton Spectator'', a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ...
s. Although being opened officially in 2009, the stadium ever since has been undergoing renovation, and because of protest from the football community in the city because of the unexpected outcome, the stadium has undergone a plan to eventually house close to 20,000 spectators.
Aside from the
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
itself, there is also a
sports complex housed within the compound, which includes a
hockey field,
tennis court,
Olympic-size swimming pool, and an indoor
volleyball/
basketball stadium.
Unlike the
Salalah Sports Complex located in the Auwqad district of Salalah, the Al-Saada Stadium features seating completely around the field, and does not include a
running track, making the atmosphere more powerful and closer to the action.
Controversy
The stadium has been subject to criticism, especially from influential people in Salalah. Omani
newspaper,
Al-Shabiba has published an article on February 1, 201
about the stadium by writer, Mohammed Al-Rawas pointing out the main issues with the stadium. In it, it states that it has taken much longer than expected for it to finish, no seating whatsoever was installed, and the end result was just not what was expected. The article also mentions no installation of a parking lot.
Abdul-Hakim Ba-Mukhalaf, Ali Al-Ra'ood, Nayyif Al-Marhoon, and Dhofar S.C. president, Badr bin Ali Al-Rawas also join writer, Mohammed Al-Rawas in the long article criticizing the construction, planning, and disappointing end-result of the stadium.
According to Al-Shabiba's article from February 1, 2010, the stadium was planned to be completely finished in 15 months, but in fact, it has taken nearly 4 years and is still experiencing construction.
The leading football
Internet forum, forum in the
Arab WorldKooora.comhas also been the place of criticism towards the stadium with various members opening threads explaining their disappointment in the outcome.
KooooraWaBas has also written an article about the stadium explaining the poor managing and planning of the stadium, lack of giving live feeds of matches, and no match clock installed.
[http://www.koooorawabas.com/articles.php?mqal=412 KooooraWaBas article on Al-Saada stadium -- No live matches, no match clock!]
Tenants
Al-Saada Stadium is the new home to
Dhofar FC as well as
Al-Nasr
Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yellow ...
FC, replacing their old home; the
Salalah Sports Complex. The stadium also hosts various teams from Salalah in the second division, as well as
Mirbat.
Trivia
* The first international friendly between
Saudi Arabia and
Oman in
Salalah was held in 2009 in this stadium.
* Location of this stadium is close to the ongoing construction of the new location of the
Dhofar University.
* Many times the venue is confused with the Salalah Sports Complex when Dhofari clubs play home matches.
Gallery
File:Oman vs KSA Al Saada Stadium August142009 Salalah4life.jpg, Oman vs Saudi Arabia - 12 August 2009
References
External links
Kooora.com reports the Al-Shabiba article from February 1, 2010, about the Al-Saada StadiumAl-Shabiba article (different source)Omanet.com info about the stadiumKooooraWaBas article on Al-Saada Stadium*{{in lang, ar}
Al-Nasr's official website posted pictures of the stadium under constructionYoutube video of Oman vs. K.S.A. spectator POV before matchStadium pictures
Football venues in Oman
Sports venues in Oman