Shenzhen Bay Sports Center

Shenzhen Bay Sports Center
深圳湾体育中心
Spring Cocoon (春茧)
	Shenzhen Bay Sports Center in December 2020
Location	Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Coordinates	22°31′15″N 113°56′45″E / 22.52083°N 113.94583°E
Owner	Shenzhen Municipal People's Government
Operator	Shenzhen Sports Bureau
Capacity	20,000 (Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Stadium); 13,000 (Arena)
Surface	Grass
Construction
Built	2009–2011
Opened	2011
Construction cost	RMB 2.3 billion
Architect	AXS Satow; Beijing Urban Engineering Design & Research Institute
Website
	http://www.springcocoon.com/

Shenzhen Bay Sports Center (Chinese: 深圳湾体育中心), nicknamed Spring Cocoon (Chinese: 春茧) for its shape, is a multiuse stadium in Shenzhen, China. It is used mostly for table tennis, swimming and soccer competitions. The stadium is known for hosting the annual RoboMaster Robotics Competition since 2015, as well as the opening ceremony and some events of the 2011 Summer Universiade. The stadium has a capacity of 20,000 spectators and the Arena seats 13,000 more. The Sports Center also hosts regular concerts and has been used as a military staging area.

Construction

An international design competition for the building was held in early 2008, and preparatory work began in November of the same year. Built on reclaimed land, the foundations were laid in February 2009, and the building was completed in mid-2011. The building consists of three arenas, a swimming pool, an indoor arena, and a multi-use stadium joined by a perforated external steel skin. Within the complex is 30-story office tower.^[1]^[2]

Panorama showing the full length of the sports center

Transport

The stadium is within walking distance from Houhai station of Shenzhen Metro and is at the proximity of the Nanshan Central business district development.^[3]

Hong Kong Protests

During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, satellite images showed the stadium being used to house more than 100 military APCs (armored personnel carriers) and trucks.^[4]^[5] Reporters from the Dutch news service Nederlandse Omroep Stichting later used an unmanned aerial vehicle to capture film footage the military performing anti-riot training exercises.^[6]