Images: Populous
More details have emerged regarding King Salman Stadium, a planned 92,000-capacity stadium in the Saudi capital of Riyadh that has been designed by Populous.
Plans for the project were first announced in July, and fresh images have now been released today (Monday). The stadium is scheduled to open by the end of 2029 and would be used during the 2034 FIFA World Cup, which Saudi Arabia is set to be awarded hosting rights to.
King Salman Stadium will serve as the primary headquarters for the Saudi Arabia national team and will be located in northern Riyadh on King Salman Road, adjacent to King Abdulaziz Park.
Populous said its design for the stadium draws inspiration from Saudi Arabia’s natural landscape and represents a seed that “germinates, cracks the earth and emerges as a dynamic yet seemingly natural invention”.
The main stadium will feature a royal box, hospitality skyboxes and lounges, 300 VVIP seats, and 2,200 VIP seats. Other features will include internal screens, gardens and a walking path on the roof that will provide panoramic views of King Abdulaziz Park.
The wider development will include commercial facilities, football training fields, fan zones, an aquatics centre with an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and an athletics stadium. It will also feature an indoor sports hall and community sports park for volleyball, basketball and padel.
The stadium will be capable of hosting other entertainment events. Landscaped walkways will provide access to the stadium on match days, while on non-match days the walkways will be transformed into “dynamic” spaces with commercial offerings.
Shireen Hamdan, general manager of Populous KSA, said: “The King Salman Stadium and Masterplan is an innovative, iconic destination that will harmoniously blend the realm of sports with the beauty of nature. Beyond creating advanced sports facilities, the development aims to unite athleticism and the environment, inspiring all who engage with it.
“To achieve this, the design teams have drawn direct inspiration from nature’s patterns and elements. The design philosophy reflects a commitment to cutting-edge infrastructure while paying tribute to the intrinsic connection between sustainable development, human activity and the natural world.”
Mark Craine, senior principal at Populous and lead architect for the project, added: “Populous has brought the full weight of its 40 years of global expertise in stadium design to bear on this ambitious project for a new world-class national stadium in Saudi Arabia.
“It has been designed in full compliance with FIFA standards, meaning that it can host matches at the highest level of international tournament football, while offering the flexibility to accommodate a variety of event types. The stadium will integrate seamlessly with the wider masterplan blending architecture with landscape, and landscape with architecture to create a new sporting hub for Riyadh.”
Populous is also working on other stadium projects in Saudi Arabia, including Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, King Fahad International Stadium and Aramco Stadium.
Saudi Arabia’s ambitious proposals for the 2034 World Cup feature 11 new stadiums and no fewer than eight venues in Riyadh. All new stadiums are scheduled to be completed by 2032.
Saudi Arabia is in the box seat to host the 2034 tournament after Football Australia opted against bidding for the event. It would be the second World Cup to take place in the Middle East, after the 2022 event in Qatar.
The Extraordinary FIFA Congress will take a decision on the appointment of the 2030 and 2034 World Cup hosts on December 11. The 2030 tournament will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with celebratory matches also taking place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark 100 years since Uruguay staged the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
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