Meed | Top 15 Saudi stadium projects

Top 15 Saudi stadium projects

30 August 2024

Saudi Arabia formally kicked off its World Cup participation process in October last year after announcing that it planned to bid to host the event. The announcement was a culmination of Riyadh’s football-focused strategy launched two years before when a consortium led by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), completed the full acquisition of UK football club Newcastle United from St James Holdings in 2021.

The move was further solidified when Saudi Arabia was effectively confirmed as the host after Australia, the only other bidder for the tournament, withdrew from the race in October last year.

This was followed by Saudi Arabia’s official bid campaign reveal and the submission of its bid to Fifa to host the World Cup 2034 event in July. The official selection of Saudi Arabia as the 2034 host is expected to be confirmed on 11 December.

Saudi Arabia will likely invest hundreds of billions of dollars in developing the required infrastructure to host the event. Experience from previous World Cups, including the most recent one in Qatar, has shown that hosting the tournament can transform a country’s economy.

The tournament brings in fans from around the world to enjoy a month-long festival of football. After the 2022 tournament, Qatar issued a statement saying that more than 1.4 million fans had visited the country during the event.

The decision to host the Fifa World Cup 2034 is a pivotal moment for Saudi Arabia as it validates much of the social and economic change that the kingdom has embarked upon since Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman launched Vision 2030 back in 2016.

Building stadiums is the most prominent part of the bid to host the coveted Fifa World Cup.

According to the official bid book document submitted by Saudi Arabia in July, it will construct 11 new stadiums as part of its bid to host the Fifa World Cup 2034.

Eight out of the 15 stadiums are located in the capital, Riyadh, four in Jeddah and one each in Al-Khobar, Abha and Neom.

The event requires a minimum of 14 all-seater stadiums, of which at least four should be existing structures. The capacity must be at least 80,000 seats for the opening and final matches, and for the semi-finals, there must be at least 60,000 seats. For all other matches, at least 40,000 seats are needed.

The kingdom has recently ramped up its announcements regarding building new stadiums across the country in preparation to host the event.

1. King Salman Stadium

The King Salman Stadium will be the showpiece venue for the tournament. The US-based architectural firm Populous-designed stadium will cover an area of about 660,000 square metres (sq m) and have a seating capacity of over 92,000 spectators.

The stadium will host the opening and final games of the Fifa World Cup 2034 tournament. The construction of the stadium is expected to be completed by 2029.

Location: Riyadh
Companies involved: Populous
Match category: Opening and final games

2. King Fahad Sports City Stadium

The King Fahad Sports City Stadium is expected to be the venue for the semi-final. The stadium will be refurbished to increase its seating capacity from its current 58,000 seats to 70,200 seats.

The main contract bid submission process is ongoing and the project’s expansion works are expected to begin early next year. The stadium will also be a venue for the AFC Asian Cup 2027.

Location: Riyadh
Companies involved: Populous
Match category: Semi-final

3. Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, Qiddiya City

The Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium will be built on top of a 200-metre-high Tuwaiq cliff located in the new sports and entertainment district of Qiddiya City.

The stadium will have a capacity to accommodate 46,979 spectators and will feature a fully combined retractable pitch, roof and LED wall. The construction works are expected to begin later this year.

Location: Riyadh
Companies involved: Qiddiya Investment Company, Populous
Match category: Third-place playoff

4. New Murabba Stadium

The New Murabba Stadium will have the capacity to accommodate 46,010 spectators and will be built as part of the New Murabba downtown project in Riyadh.

The construction of the stadium is expected to be completed by 2032.

Location: Riyadh
Companies involved: New Murabba Development Company
Match category: Round of 32

5. Roshn Stadium

The Roshn stadium will be built in the southwest of Riyadh. The planned facility will have the capacity to accommodate 46,000 spectators and will span an area of over 450,000 sq m.

Location: Riyadh
Companies involved: Roshn
Match category: Round of 32

6. Prince Faisal Bin Fahad Sports City Stadium

The Prince Faisal Bin Fahad Stadium is earmarked for an expansion that aims to increase its seating capacity from its current 22,188 seats to 46,865 seats.

The facility will also host the AFC Asian Cup in 2027.

The refurbishment works will change the geometry of the seating bowl from an athletics stadium to a football stadium.

Location: Riyadh
Companies involved: Populous
Match category: Round of 32

Saudi World Cup bid bucks global trend for sporting events

7. South Riyadh Stadium

The Populous-designed stadium will be located in southwest Riyadh close to the Wadi Namar. The stadium will have the capacity to host 47,060 spectators. It is expected to be ready by 2032.

Location: Riyadh
Companies involved: Populous
Match category: Round of 32

8. King Saud University Stadium

The King Saud University Stadium, located on the university’s campus in the west of Riyadh, is one of the venues that will undergo expansion and refurbishment to host the event.

The expansion will increase the stadium’s capacity to 46,319 spectators and the construction works are expected to be completed by 2032.

Location: Riyadh
Companies involved: Populous
Match category: Round of 32

9. King Abdullah Sports City Stadium

The King Abdullah Sports City Stadium is the home ground for the Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli football clubs. The venue will undergo expansion works that will increase its seating capacity to 58,432 people. The stadium will host the quarter-final games.

Location: Jeddah
Companies involved: Arup
Match category: Quarter-final

10. Qiddiya Coast Stadium, Jeddah

The Populous-designed stadium will be situated at the heart of the Qiddiya Coast development in Jeddah. The multi-purpose stadium will have a 46,096 seating capacity and will be one of the venues for the round of 16 matches.

Location: Jeddah
Companies involved: Populous
Match category: Round of 16

11. Jeddah Central Stadium, Jeddah

The already under-construction football stadium is part of the Jeddah Central Project in Jeddah and has a seating capacity of 45,794 spectators. The stadium is expected to be completed by 2027.

Location: Jeddah
Companies involved: Jeddah Central Development Company, Khatib & Alami, Gerkan Marg & Partner, China Railway Construction Corporation, Sama Construction for Trading & Contracting, Geoharbour
Match category: Round of 32

12. King Abdullah Economic City Stadium, Jeddah

The planned stadium will have a seating capacity of 45,700 and will be built in the King Abdullah Economic City on the Red Sea Coast, north of Jeddah.

Location: Jeddah
Companies involved: Populous
Match category: Round of 32

13. Aramco Stadium

The Aramco Stadium in Al-Khobar is under construction and is expected to be completed by 2026. The stadium will have a capacity of 46,096 seats.

Location: Al-Khobar
Companies involved: Saudi Aramco, Roshn, Foster + Partners, Populous, Besix, Albawani, Al-Osais International Holding
Match category: Round of 16

14. King Khalid University Stadium

The stadium will undergo expansion works that will see its capacity raised to 45,428 seats. The facility is expected to be ready by 2032.

Location: Abha
Companies involved: Populous
Match category: Round of 16

15. Neom Stadium

The 46,010-seat stadium in Neom is “designed to stand out among the world’s most iconic landmarks”, according to the bid book. It is planned to be built 350 metres above ground level within The Line project at Neom.

The stadium is expected to be ready by 2032.

Location: Neom
Companies involved: Neom
Match category: Quarter-final

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Commentary
Colin Foreman
Editor

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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has backed Neom by including it as one of six strategic ecosystems in its newly approved 2026-30 strategy.

The future of the $500bn gigaproject had been thrown into doubt following the postponement of the 2029 Asian Winter Games at the Trojena mountain resort, the cancellation of construction contracts – such as the $5bn deal with Italian contractor Webuild for dam works at Trojena – and the slowdown of development at The Line, where tunnelling contracts were cancelled and staff left the project.

The backing comes as Neom’s operational focus appears to be evolving in response to shifting regional dynamics and global economic conditions. For example, on 15 April Neom posted on its official X account about a new Europe-Egypt-Neom-GCC corridor, describing it as a faster route for time-sensitive goods. It said the corridor combines trucking and ferry services to move goods quickly into the Gulf, adding that importers from several European markets are already using it to reach the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and beyond.

Powered by Pan Marine, DFDS and regional RoPax services, the initiative is positioned as a way to add flexibility and resilience to regional supply chains. This emphasis on logistics and immediate trade utility suggests a shift away from the more speculative architectural announcements that characterised Neom’s early years, towards activity more directly tied to current market realities.

PIF’s broader 2026-30 strategy places heavy emphasis on “delivering competitive domestic ecosystems to connect sectors, unlock the full potential of strategic assets, maximise long-term returns and continue to drive the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia”.

The inclusion of Neom as a standalone ecosystem within the Vision Portfolio suggests that while the project remains part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals, it will be subject to the fund's focus on working with the private sector.

That means the long-term success of Neom will increasingly depend on its ability to attract external investment and function as a viable economic hub rather than just a state-funded construction site.

MEED’s April 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

> COMMENT: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift
> GVT &: ECONOMY: Riyadh navigates a changed landscape
> BANKING: Testing times for Saudi banks
> UPSTREAM: Offshore oil and gas projects to dominate Aramco capex in 2026
> DOWNSTREAM: Saudi downstream projects market enters lean period
> POWER: Wind power gathers pace in Saudi Arabia
> WATER: Sharakat plan signals next phase of Saudi water expansion
> CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction enters a period of strategic readjustment
> TRANSPORT: Rail expansion powers Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure push

To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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Colin Foreman

Kuwait gas project worth $3.3bn put on hold

16 April 2026

State-owned Kuwait Gulf Oil Company’s (KGOC’s) planned tender for the development of an onshore gas plant next to the Al-Zour refinery has been put on hold due to uncertainty created by the US and Israel’s war with Iran, according to industry sources.

The project budget is estimated to be $3.3bn, and the last meeting with contractors to discuss the project took place in Kuwait on 10 February.

Previously, it was expected to be tendered in late March, but the tendering process was delayed due to the regional conflict and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

One source said: “This tender is now effectively on hold while KGOC waits for increased stability in the region before it invites companies to bid for the contract.”

Under current plans, the plant will have the capacity to process up to 632 million cubic feet a day of gas and 88.9 million barrels a day of condensates from the Dorra offshore field, located in Gulf waters in the Saudi-Kuwait Neutral Zone.

Ownership of the field is disputed by Iran, which refers to the field as Arash.

Iran claims the field partially extends into Iranian territory and asserts that Tehran should be a stakeholder in its development.

It is believed that the Dorra field’s close proximity to Iran will make development difficult due to the current security environment.

The offshore elements of the project are expected to be especially difficult to protect from attacks from Iran.

In July last year, MEED reported that KGOC had initiated the project by launching an early engagement process with contractors for the main engineering, procurement and construction tender.

France-based Technip Energies completed the contract for the front-end engineering and design.

READ THE APRIL 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

> AGENDA: Gulf economies under fire

> GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift

> MARKET FOCUS: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift

> LEGAL: Redefining the region’s arbitration landscape

> QATAR LNG: Qatar’s new $8bn investment heats up global LNG race

> INTERVIEW: Leyla Abdimomunova, National Development Division, PIF

> LEADERSHIP: Shaping the future of passenger rail in the Middle East

To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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Wil Crisp

Iraq pushes to revive oil pipeline through Saudi Arabia

16 April 2026

Iraq is pushing to revive an oil pipeline that passes through Saudi Arabia, allowing it to diversify export routes.

Saheb Bazoun, a spokesman for Iraq’s Oil Ministry, said the pipeline would help to insulate Iraq from any future blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed since 28 February.

The original pipeline through Saudi Arabia has not been used for more than 30 years and would need work to be done in order to bring it online.

It is 1,568km long, extending from the city of Zubair in Iraq to the Saudi port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.

The pipeline was built in two phases during the 1980s. The first phase stretches between Zubair and Khurais, while the second extends to Yanbu. The pipeline’s operating capacity reached over 1.6 million barrels a day (b/d).

Following the Gulf War, the pipeline was shut down in August 1990. It has remained out of operation for decades, despite Iraq’s several attempts to restart it.

The original pipeline project cost over $2.6bn, including storage tanks and loading terminals.

In the wake of the US and Israel attacking Iran on 28 February, global markets have lost 11 million barrels a day (b/d) of oil supply due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.