The first phase of the Shanghai Citizen’s Sports Park, in Anting Town of Jiading District, finished construction yesterday. The park will officially open next year.

The first phase, covering 420,000 square meters, includes 18 standard football pitches, 32 half-size pitches and 25 basketball courts, as well as service centers, jogging tracks and a plaza for events.

According to Wang Hao, deputy head of Jiading, there were just 1.35 square meters of sports space per person in the district at the end of 2018, compared with a citywide average of 2.23 square meters.

“The park will make up for the lack of football pitches and basketball courts in Jiading,” said Wang. “It will also be a good place for locals to hang out and enjoy sport events.”

The final park will cover 2.8 square kilometers.

Zhao Guangsheng, deputy head of the Shanghai Administration of Sports, said that such large sports parks are uncommon in the city due to a lack of land.