Qatar Unveils The First Look Of Its World Cup Fan Village
On Wednesday, Qatar unveiled its 6,000-cabin World Cup fan village in an isolated space close to its airports, an offering for housing toward the lower end of what’s readily available.
The brightly coloured cabins are designed to accommodate up to two people with twin beds, a small chair and table, air conditioning, a nightstand, a toilet, and a shower.
The 1.1-square-mile site boasts a bus stop, metro station, temporary restaurant, and convenience store. The area could accommodate 12,000 individuals if booked at capacity.
Artificial green grass blankets the outside walkways, with the common areas filled with bean-bag-style chairs. Competing nations’ flags can be seen flapping in the desert wind, and there’s a massive screen for World Cup fans to watch the matches.
They will be available for approximately 200 dollars per night — 270 dollars with the board. About 60% of the cabins are booked for the tournament, mentioned Omar al-Jaber, the head of accommodation at the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in Qatar.
There will be other rooms offered at 80 dollars per night farther out than this site, close to Hamad International Airport and Doha International Airport, both of which will be getting flights at all hours while the tournament is on.
Those at the Fan Village must expect a 40-minute commute to the stadium sites.
Most fans prefer if it is not a hotel, they rather like an apartment or villa, Mr al-Jaber mentioned, noting that those options are managed by a French hospitality firm named Accor. However, fans who desire budget accommodation will prefer this site and the other, he said.
In the lead-up to the tournament, concerns regarding the hotel room space and high rates for available rooms have impacted Qatar, which lacks hotel capacity for all workers, volunteers, teams, and fans. So, Doha has come up with camping and cabin sites, hiring large cruise vessels and encouraging World Cup fans to stay in neighbouring nations and fly in for the games.
Reference: SB Nation, The Big lead