The
Workers Stadium often called
Gongti or
Gong Ti, is a
multi-purpose stadiumMulti-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...
in the
Chaoyang DistrictChaoyang District is a district of Beijing, China.Chaoyang is home to the majority of Beijing's many foreign embassies, the well-known Sanlitun bar street, as well as Beijing's growing CBD. The Olympic Park, built for the 2008 Summer Olympics, is also in Chaoyang...
of north-eastern
BeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
,
ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. It is mostly used for
football (soccer)Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and several other cities in the People's Republic of China from 6 August to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their full women's national teams and men's U-23 teams to participate...
matches. The stadium was built in 1959 and it was last renovated in 2004 (as part of the renovation, the concrete structure was strengthened, a new rotating display screen was installed, and energy-saving devices have been installed). It currently has a capacity of 66,161 and covers a land area of 350,000 square meters. It is one of the
Ten Great BuildingsThe Ten Great Buildings are ten public buildings built in Beijing in 1959 to commemorate the ten year anniversary of the People's Republic of China. They were part of an architecture and urbanism initiative of the Great Leap Forward, and were completed in a time span of ten months, by their...
constructed in 1959 for the 10th anniversary of the
People's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
The stadium was the main venue for the
1990 Asian GamesThe 11th Asian Games also known as XI Asiad were held from September 22, 1990 to October 7, 1990 in Beijing, China. It was the first large-scale international sports event to be held in the People's Republic of China. A total number of 6,122 athletes, coming from 37 countries, competed in 29 sports...
, where the opening and closing ceremonies were held. Some high attendance matches of the Beijing Guo'an Football Club are also held at the stadium. In 1993 the stadium bore host to a slew of World Records set by the world-leading group of Chinese distance runners at the 7th Edition of the Chinese National Games, the most famous being international stars and world champions
Wang JunxiaWang Junxia is a Chinese former long-distance runner.-Career:Wang was coached by Ma Junren until 1995 and by Mao Dezhen from 1995 to her retirement after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics....
and
Qu YunxiaQu Yunxia is a Chinese Olympic athlete who specialized in the 1500 metres.At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona she won a bronze medal on 1500 m. In 1993 she achieved the still standing world record in the 1500 metres at 3:50.46 minutes while running in the National Games of the People's...
, who had dominated the 1993 World Championships only a month before. The stadium therefore holds claim to the fastest women's 1500 m time ever recorded of 3:50.46, the fastest women's 3000 m of 8:06.11 and the fastest women's 10,000 m of 29:31.78. These world records still stand today and are arguably the stadium's biggest claim to fame. The next year, the stadium would be partially demolished and renovated as part of China's bid for the
2000 Olympic GamesThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
- a bid which ultimately failed. Nevertheless, the stadium continued to be a mainstay of Beijing sport into the 21st century, being the Final venue of
2004 AFC Asian CupThe 2004 AFC Asian Cup football competition is the thirteenth staging of AFC Asian Cup. It was held from July 17 to August 7, 2004 in China. The defending champions Japan defeated China in the final in Beijing....
.
For the
2008 Summer OlympicsThe 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
it hosted the football quarter-finals and semi-finals, and the women's gold medal final.
The stadium was scheduled to host the first ever
NFLThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
game played in China, the aptly named
China BowlThe China Bowl was the name of a proposed National Football League pre-season exhibition game that had been scheduled to take place in August 2007, but later postponed to 2009 and ultimately canceled, between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at the National Stadium in Beijing...
, a preseason game between the
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
and the
New England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
on August 8, 2007. However, the game was canceled in April 2007. The reasons given were that the NFL wanted to devote all its resources to the scheduled regular season game between the
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the
New York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
to be played in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on October 28, 2007.
The stadium was the host for the 2009 Barclays Asia Trophy on 29 July and 31 July 2009, featuring
Beijing GuoanBeijing Guoan Football Club Beijing Guoan Football Club Beijing Guoan Football Club (Simplified Chinese: 北京国安 is part of CITIC Group (China International Trust and Investment Corporation). Their current home stadium is Workers Stadium and the Fengtai stadium for less popular games. The current head...
, and Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and
Hull CityHull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
.
The areas north (
SanlitunSanlitun is an area of the Chaoyang District, Beijing containing many popular bar streets and international stores.The area has been under almost constant regeneration since the late 20th century as part of a city-wide project of economic regrowth...
), east and west of the stadium are popular nightlife destinations. The
xi men (West Gate) offers a strip of flashy nightclubs.
The
Workers Indoor ArenaThe Workers' Indoor Arena, also known as Beijing Workers' Gymnasium , is an indoor arena located west of the Workers Stadium in Beijing, China. It was inaugurated in 1961 for the 26th World Table Tennis Championships....
is located just to the west of the stadium.
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