Multi-venue sports complex to reopen soon in Raqqa
Raqqa – North-Press Agency
Ahmad Al-Hassan
The Youth and Sports Committee of Raqqa Civil Council is working on rehabilitating the local sports complex in the city of Raqqa, which is known by locals as the Black Stadium.
The rehabilitation process includes leveling the pitch ground, the repairing of terraces, and umbrellas, the opening of a football stadium, a volleyball court, a swimming pool, and other playgrounds.
Moaz al-Ali, the vice-chairman of the Youth and Sports Committee, told North-Press that they’ve rehabilitated the Black Stadium after it was a place for torturing and field executions for the city’s youth by ISIS group, “We have opened an athletics hall and it has great attendance, now we are working to rehabilitate the rest of the halls in the stadium as the table tennis hall,” al-Ali said.
Abdul Karim Al-Abbas, the supervisor of rehabilitation project said: “We are working on rehabilitating of the hexagonal hall by reconstructing the destroyed parts, rehabilitating electricity and sewage networks, painting the grounds and the iron walls of the stadium”.
Abbas stated, “The restoration works will end soon and the stadium will be ready to welcome the athletes”.
Over the past two years, the Youth and Sports Committee has rehabilitated several sports fields in Raqqa countryside, such as Hattin, Kudairan, and Tal Samin stadiums.
Since its founding in 2017, the Youth and Sports Committee has encouraged young people to practice sports by setting up sports activities in the city and its countryside, and the rehabilitation of sports facilities.
It’s worth mentioning that the Black Stadium was the largest detention center of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Raqqa during its control, which was known as Point 11, which witnessed several field executions.