In the third blog in our Qatar 2022 series, we look at another of the region’s top stadia being prepared for World Cup host duties: the Al-Bayt Stadium.
The Al-Bayt is a 60,000–seat arena that’s covered by a giant tent structure – said mimic the traditional Bedouin tent (Bayt Al Sha’ar), from which it also takes its name. Located in the northern city of Al Khor, the Al-Bayt has the honour of hosting the opening match of the tournament, as well as fixtures right through to the semi-finals. And if you fancy a kick-about yourself, the park near the stadium will be equivalent to over 30 football pitches.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy – the organisation responsible for World Cup operations and planning – commissioned Gravity Media to do the cabling installation for the Al-Bayt Stadium. The stats are dizzying: the installation required a total of 300km (186 miles) of cable – 76km (47 miles) of Triax, 41km (25 miles) of 8-pair audio, 29km (18 miles) of 12-core fibre, 75km (47 miles) of SMPTE and 72km (45 miles) of 7731A video cable – enabling broadcasters to connect their outside broadcast trucks to 70 positions across the venue through multiple cable formats.
Installing tactical fibre and SMPTE cable makes the Al-Bayt compatible with the latest broadcast technology, which is particularly important for when the World Cup starts being aired live to around 200 countries globally. The cabling will also future-proof the stadium, ensuring that they have the infrastructure to deliver live broadcasts there for many years to come; the venue’s legacy will include tracks for running, cycling and horse riding.
We ran the project from our office in Doha, with our in-house team of cable experts working onsite to complete the installation. For enquiries relating to Qatar 22, or any broadcast and production needs in the region, contact the team on [email protected]
