As the national football team prepares for a crucial match in the World Cup, will the 80,800-seat “Big Lotus” in Hangzhou be full?
An exciting news for Hangzhou fans, next year they can watch national football games at home!
On December 23, the “Chinese Football Team” announced that the third stage of the 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers will be the fourth home stadium of the Chinese men’s football team – Hangzhou! On March 25, 2025, the Chinese team will face the Australian team at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium (Grand Lotus).
Grand Lotus welcomes its first major sports event after the Asian Games
There are a total of 10 games in Group C of the top 18 of the US-Canada-Mexico World Cup qualifiers, and the Chinese team has 5 home games.
In 2024, the home games of the national football team will be in Dalian, Qingdao and Xiamen. From the 7th to the 10th round, the national football team will challenge Saudi Arabia away from home on March 20, 2025, return home to face Australia on March 25, challenge Indonesia away from home on June 5, and face Bahrain at home on June 10.
Where are the last two home hosting cities? There had been various rumors before, but until this official announcement, fans in Hangzhou rushed to tell each other that this time they could finally enjoy this high-profile football match at home.
Grand Lotus is the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and track and field competitions of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, with 80,800 fixed seats. After the Asian Games, Grand Lotus has hosted many concerts, but has not hosted any sports events. This round of 18 group matches in the World Preliminaries is the first large-scale sports event held here in the post-Asian Games period.
In the first three home games of the Chinese team this year, Chengshi Interactive reporters visited two of them – Dalian and Xiamen, and were also infected by the crazy atmosphere at the scene. When the national football team lost 1-2 to Saudi Arabia, the number of fans at Dalian Barracuda Bay Football Stadium was 48,628. The Chinese team defeated Indonesia 2-1. The number of spectators at the Qingdao Youth Football Stadium was 37,133. In the third home game in November, the national football team lost to Japan 1-3, and the number of spectators at Xiamen Bailu Stadium was 45,336.
Among them, Dalian Barracuda Bay Football Stadium and Qingdao Youth Football Stadium are both professional stadiums, Xiamen Bailu Stadium can be converted into professional stadium mode, and Big Lotus is a non-professional stadium. However, the surrounding area of Grand Lotus is directly accessible by subway, has mature commercial facilities, and is very convenient for accommodation and meals. It is very friendly to both local audiences and fans from afar.
The ticket price may be comparable to the three home stadiums of Dalian, Qingdao and Xiamen
At present, only the location has been officially announced, and the ticket prices have not yet been announced. The ticket prices in Dalian, Qingdao and Xiamen are 280 yuan to 1680 yuan, 280 yuan to 1380 yuan and 280 yuan to 1380 yuan respectively. The tickets for the Xiamen show were all sold out within seconds. From this point of view, the ticket price for this game in Hangzhou is probably within this range.
“When will the tickets be released? We must grab a wave!” “They are all here at home. You must go to the scene to roar for the national football team!” The fans are no longer calm. Grand Lotus’s official number of external seats is 80,800. Will the attendance rate of this much-anticipated game reach a new high?
2024 is the third year that Hangzhou has been selected as the second batch of national key cities for football development during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period. Since this year, Hangzhou has launched a series of measures in response to the “difficult but correct thing” of football, including the establishment of the “Hangzhou Football Association” Academy”, establishing a youth football talent growth system, and proposing the goal of having more than four male and female professional football club teams, which has attracted widespread attention in the football world.
The introduction of such a heavyweight event as the World Cup qualifiers is also a key battle for the national football team to compete in the World Cup. This may become an important part of Hangzhou’s two-way journey between city and football.
Fan message: It is not impossible to host the World Cup
After this news was pushed on the official WeChat account of Metropolis Express, the number of views quickly exceeded 100,000+. Many fans were excited and rushed to tell each other that they wanted to watch the game live in Hangzhou, the home court——
Chen Xiaoqi 2016: The national football team is like an ordinary child. As long as there is a little bit of hope, you should support it!
Xu Jintao: The advantages of Hangzhou are its time, location, and people!
Xinping Qihe: Grab the tickets and grab the tickets! Although I don’t know much about Qiu, come on, I know how to do it.
Ms. Qing: It’s my birthday, so I have to grab a ticket to see it.
Miss-Qigege: When will the tickets be opened? I must grab one for my dad, who has been a fan for decades, so he can feel the atmosphere.
Serie A: Go ahead, grab some tickets to cheer for the Chinese team.
Xingqiao Lao Mao: As Hangzhou gets better and better, it is not impossible to host the World Cup!
YangHello2024: Double click on Hangzhou again, great!
Chen Chen: Hangzhou welcomes fans from all over the world to come and have fun.
Last Night Star 18072916788: Football-loving friends from all over the country are welcome to come to Hangzhou to watch and play.
Fish that never looks for shore: Ningbo is so close, so be sure to grab a ticket and go refuel.
(Original title: Will the 80,800-seat “Big Lotus” in Hangzhou be full for the national football team’s key battle in the World Cup?)
2024-12-24 05:02:00