Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium

The Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt is a venue for the 2017 National Sports Festival.

Inside, the architecture opens up. The roof inside is a complex web of steel girders, heavy and industrial, contrasting with the bright colours of the seats below.

The ground has become the anchor for Rivers United FC, who moved into the building after the merger with Sharks FC. There is a sense that the place is still settling into its role. The surface is natural grass, though it has required attention; patches of darker soil are visible near the sidelines, evidence of the repairs made to smooth out the undulations. When the rain comes, which it does with regularity, the vast parking lot turns into a mirror, reflecting the grey underside of the roof. The stadium stands between the old Yakubu Gowon ground and the new expectations of the local supporters, a structure that had to wait for its moment in the sun.