Incredible stadium bigger than Wembley half-finished and abandoned after cash problems

The staggeringly huge stadium was left to rot for years

A huge £1.2 billion stadium in China that was supposed to dwarf Wembley Stadium and Barcelona’s Camp Nou was left abandoned for two years. Back in 2020, Guangzhou FC were aiming to elevate China’s football investment to unprecedented heights by financing one of the planet’s biggest arenas.

The planned 100,000-capacity stadium provided a stark illustration of Guangzhou FC’s financial troubles, with the club having since been kicked out of Chinese professional football. The so-called Flower Stadium was set to take its name from Guangzhou’s renowned flower markets.

Xia Haijun, president of property giant Evergrande, who owned China’s most decorated club, confidently said at the time: “Evergrande Stadium will become a new world-class landmark comparable to the Sydney Opera House and Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and an important symbol of Chinese football to the world. We hope the stadium will host the opening ceremony of the 2023 Asian Cup.”

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A massive lotus flower structure, capable of changing colours, was planned to surround the stadium bowl. That vision never materialised as scaffolding and cranes lay dormant on the abandoned site, with only the foundation and lower tier partially completed.

Designs revealed in 2020 showed steep three-tiered stands featuring red seating rising dramatically above the pitch. At the summit, a wave-like design echoed that of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.

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Plans also included 168 VIP boxes and 16 VVIP boxes. The stadium was even intended to host fixtures at the 2022 Club World Cup.

Evergrande had also outlined proposals to construct two additional 80,000-capacity stadiums in other parts of China, though specific locations were never disclosed. Construction was dramatically halted completely in 2022 when Guangzhou encountered massive financial difficulties.

In the years following the stadium designs being unveiled in 2020, Guangzhou’s owners descended into serious financial trouble after overwhelming debt reached a reported £220bn. That threw the club and their stadium into major turmoil.

Evergrande, China’s biggest property developers, ceased building work in a bid to reduce debts. Guangzhou, whose ranks have included former Tottenham midfielder Paulinho and ex-Porto striker Jackson Martinez, offloaded numerous key players which helped lead to relegation in 2022.

In January 2025 Guangzhou were kicked out of professional football and prohibited from entering competitions by the Chinese FA. It represented a shocking downfall for the eight-time Chinese champions and two-time AFC Champions League winners.

The Flower Stadium proposals have since been revived, though on a considerably reduced scale. The location was confiscated by the Chinese government and transferred to state-owned Guangzhou City Construction Investment Group.

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A significantly smaller 73,000-capacity stadium is now being developed and fresh proposals for the stadium are anticipated to cost £253 million, a full billion less than the initial plan. Work on construction restarted in 2024 and the stadium is set to finally be completed in 2026.

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