Moroccan Architect Tarik Oualalou, leader of a consortium, was selected to design the Grand Stadium of Casablanca, with the English architectural firm Populous, renowned for designing Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London and Yankee Stadium in New York, topping seven competitors from an initial roster of 12, according to official documents released this week.
Joined by Populous and engineering firms ME Engineers, Maffeis Engineering, and Rider Levett Bucknall, the consortium won the bid with a proposal worth around 4.74 billion MAD.
The National Agency for Public Facilities (ANEP) had proposed a payment of 5.7% for specialized engineering services, totaling nearly 199.3 million MAD.
Located within Benslimane and potentially accessible via a future high-speed line station, the stadium will eventually become one of the world’s largest, with a projected capacity of 115,000 seats. It is set to be completed in time for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal.
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The site, spanning 100 hectares in Benslimane province’s Mansouria commune, is situated near Benslimane Airport, and is 38 kilometers away from Casablanca.
Last October, the sports facility project was formalized through a partnership agreement between the government and the state investment arm Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG) with an estimated budget of 5 billion MAD.