18 Things You Never Knew about Akwa Ibom Stadium

Akwa Ibom Stadium is a two-tiered structure that includes a 400m-running track for athletic events, and is the pilot part of Uyo Sports Park development.

It sits on a-36.3 hectares of land and is enclosed by a white triangular-shaped outer covering that encircles the whole stands.

Its geometry is developed on the basis of a typical layout for multi-purpose stadia, with an arena with running track, and under consideration of optimal viewing for such sports as football and athletics.

It is constructed to seat, severally, a little more than 30,000 spectators for soccer or track and field events.

While the Grand Stand can comfortably accommodate about 7,500 spectators, including the VIP/VVIPs.

Its East Stand and Curves have provision for approximately 22,500 people. The Governors’ Lounge is located in the Grand Stand on Level Two and has sitting capacity for between 30 and 40 VVIPs. Spaces to the left and right of the Governors’ Lounge are the VIP Lounges that can play host to 60 – 70 people. And on the seating platform of the Governors’ Lounge is provision for fixed seating for 97 VVIPs/VIPs.

Level 0 of the edifice includes such athletes’ facilities as team changing units, collective changing units, referees’ dressing room, office and meeting rooms for team meetings, etc. At this level also are entrances to the East Stand Curves, toilets, first aid stations, stores and stairs to the upper levels, with the whole area rain/sun proof.

Level 1 provides dormitories for lower tier seating, kiosks, food, and beverage facilities. Level 2 is used for facilities of spectators of the upper seating, which includes toilets and kiosks.

Level 3 is a service concourse for access to the upper tier seating. To ensure maximum safety of users of the facility, the access and exit system are in tandem with global safety canons and provide two separate emergency exits which allow evacuation in less than eight minutes.

Moreover, the stadium has two video boards with the screens placed under the roof of the curves at opposite angles (north and south).

The running track has six irrigation taps to clean the tartan surface. There is earthing and lightning protection in the facility, even as a storage tank with two compartments is billed for supply of water to the stadium, whose daily water need is estimated to be 160m3.

The second water storage tank with a capacity of 200m is to be provided to serve Phase 1 of the stadium and the fire fighting needs thereof. A fire fighting pump set with an equivalent capacity of 96m3/h with 100% capacity and one jockey pump of about 1% capacity has been installed.

The structure has interesting electrical features, few of which are: 250W floodlights IP67 on 8m high round conical steel poles along the perimeter fence, with a distance of approximately 35m between each of them.

There are 70 – 400W street lights on 8 – 12m high steel poles along the perimeter fence.

There is also decorative light stack 45W, IP54, on 4m high aluminum pole with door, painted stainless steel screws in the centre of the road between helipad and stadium VIP access.

The stadium comes with fixed and dome cameras for day/night automatic switching for the access areas outside the main bowl, as well as on all levels inside the main bowl, the VIP areas and along the perimeter fence of the stadium.

Control monitors are in place in the security room and for the perimeter fence additionally in gate house no. 1.

Akwa Ibom International Stadium will be commissioned to be President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan