The Vingroup conglomerate is accelerating construction in Hanoi of what it says will be the world’s largest stadium, betting that future demand will emerge to make the 135,000-seat venue financially viable over the long term.
Thousands of workers are operating around the clock at the site, about 25km south of central Hanoi, to complete the venue by July 2027, a Vingroup representative said during a site visit this week.
The completion date would be a year ahead of the initial plan unveiled in December.
The stadium will have “the world’s largest seating capacity” and also feature the biggest fully retractable roof, said Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest firm by market capitalisation, which is simultaneously working on multiple projects, including a high-speed railway, urban developments and wind power plants.
The world’s current biggest venue, according to the International Olympic Committee, is the Rungrado Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, with a cited capacity of 150,000, although some observers have questioned the figure.
Vingroup said the project’s scale reflects plans to host large sporting and cultural events, including concerts.
“While football is hugely popular in Vietnam, it is unlikely that a 135,000-seat stadium could be justified on domestic football demand alone,” said James Walton, sports business group leader at Deloitte Asia Pacific.
He noted Vietnam’s top-tier V.League 1 averaged fewer than 6,000 spectators per match in the 2023-24 season.
Vingroup declined to give financial targets but said it expected the facility to be commercially sustainable long term. — Reuters
