During his first state visit to China in October 2007, three months after the official establishment of the Sino-Costa Rican diplomatic relationship, Costa Rica’s President Oscar Arias requested a new stadium for his country. Intended to replace the former stadium located in La Sabana park in the capital San José, the project belonged to a package of ‘cooperation’ agreements (some made public, others kept secret) negotiated as part of the newly sealed diplomatic bond between the two countries.
The projected Costa Rican National Stadium (with a 35,062 seating capacity, the largest in the country) was embraced as ‘the most modern sport infrastructure in Central America’.
It was clear, given its shape and scale, that the roof of the new Costa Rican National Stadium would become a distinctive feature on the skyline of San José. Manufactured by Zhejiang Southeast Space Frame Company, shipped from China to Costa Rica in parts and assembled by Chinese workers, the 4500-tonne structure became the most alluring feature of the stadium for the Costa Rican engineers and architects involved in the construction process. However, almost identical roofs have also been produced by design institutes and Chinese construction companies for (to name but a few) Nongo Stadium in Guinea, Stade d’Angondjé in Gabon, Ndola Stadium in Zambia, Malawi National Stadium and the stadium at Huanggang City Sports Centre in China’s Hubei Province.
Over recent years, architectural foreign-aid projects have been assigned to a design institute in China through a bidding process conducted by the Foreign Affairs Division of the Ministry of Commerce. There are separate bids for design and for construction. The evaluation process is confidential and the selection criteria for the winners are not made public.