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In part thanks to hosting the 15th Asian Games in 2006, Doha has no shortage of superb sporting venues.

Indeed, two of the facilities in the city's Aspire Zone bagged top positions in a contest for the best sports and leisure facilities in the world.

Aspire Dome won the coveted second (silver prize) and Khalifa Stadium the third position (bronze prize) in the contest, organised recently by the International Association for Sport Leisure and Facilities and sponsored by the IOC.

For the Olympic Games, however, the majority of Doha's venues will need to be expanded, if only temporarily – in particular to increase the spectator seating capacity.

In addition, the Doha 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Plan will foresee building some entirely new sporting venues.

Sport City

Sport City was at the heart of the 15th Asian Games. It played host to some of the key moments of Doha 2006, including both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and many Blue Riband events from athletics, swimming, gymnastics and several other sports.

The complex consists of the magnificent Khalifa Stadium; the ground-breaking Aspire Academy of Sports Excellence; the purpose-built Basketball Indoor Hall; the newly-upgraded Hamad Aquatic Centre and a spectator-friendly temporary site designed to host beach volleyball and equestrian events.

Khalifa Stadium was first opened in 1976, but following extensive redevelopment and modernisation ahead of the 15th Asian Games, it is now virtually unrecognisable from the original design, more than doubling its capacity from 20,000 to 50,000.

A state-of-the-art running track was installed at the stadium in May 2005.

At 290,000sqm, the spectacular Aspire Dome is the largest indoor multi-sports arena of its kind in the world. It is also a visionary sports academy, which aims to identify the best young sporting talent from the region and elsewhere and nurture them to world class level.

Opened in 2005, it houses an indoor athletics stadium, a 5,000-seat football stadium, Olympic-sized swimming and diving pools, and seven multi-purpose sports halls.

The newly-constructed Basketball Indoor Hall can accommodate 2,000 spectators, while the Hamad Aquatic Centre is another world-class facility which was upgraded ahead of the 15th Asian Games.

The three-story building now includes two Olympic-sized swimming pools and two diving pools. More than 2,000 spectators can enjoy events in the main arena.

The purpose built Al-Rayyan Sports Club west of Doha was one of the busiest competition venues during the 15th Asian Games, hosting football, hockey, softball and indoor volleyball.

The main Al-Rayyan stadium has a capacity of 25,000, making it the joint second biggest in Qatar alongside the Al-Gharrafa stadium.

The indoor hall accommodated 3,000 spectators for indoor volleyball, while temporary outdoor venues were built for baseball, softball and hockey.

The Qatar Sports Club achieved worldwide fame in May 2006 when Justin Gatlin equalled the 100m world record.

Running in front of a 12,000-strong crowd and a worldwide TV audience at the Qatar IAAF World Super Tour athletics meeting, the world and Olympic champion ran 9.766secs to equal the world record.

The 12,500-capacity main arena and track was extensively renovated for the Asian Games and played host to the opening and closing ceremonies for the 3rd West Asian Games in December 2005.

The indoor hall has also been refurbished and upgraded and now seats 1,050 spectators. Qatar Sports Club is the most centrally located of the five sports clubs being used for the 15th Asian Games.

The Qatar Sports Club stadium was one of five venues for the football tournament. The indoor hall staged three martial arts: judo, karate and taekwondo.

The Al-Arabi Sports Club is a well-established sports club in southern Doha and home to successful football and basketball teams.

The main stadium was extensively renovated for the 15th Asian Games and now holds 13,000 spectators.

At the Asian Games, the venue was used for rugby sevens, table tennis, football, and fencing.