Work has been completed on the first proposed venue for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar -- the Khalifa Int'l Stadium. More than five years before the tournament kicks off, Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy confirmed "extensive renovations" on the 40,000-seat venue are now finished. The renovations include the "installation of revolutionary cooling technology promised during Qatar's successful bid," which will keep the pitch at an "optimum" 26 degrees Celsius and the stands somewhere between 24 and 28 degrees (SKY SPORTS, 5/17).
Racing Queensland "put the wheels in motion to what it hopes will lead to new state-of-the-art facilities and a platform to grow the harness and greyhound codes." A "key focus" will be on the "ability to produce non-racing development and income and have racing-aligned development such as clubs and veterinary services." RQ Chair Steve Wilson said, "We want to use our investment in modern facilities to build places for local people to enjoy." The projects will be funded by the Racing Infrastructure Fund which has A$63M ($46.8M) available now with a further A$61M ($45.3M) of inflows expected from the UBET sponsorship through '23 (Brisbane COURIER-MAIL, 5/17).
