Saudi Arabia is set on issuing $2.7B construction tenders on football stadiums before the end of the year 2023. The Ministry of Sports in Saudi Arabia is preparing to hand out the tenders in December to kick off construction of the stadiums. This is part of the SR 10.1bn capital programs project initiated by the Kingdom. The Kingdom’s sports ministry had issued out an invitation for companies to bid on the project in July. This included the submission of prequalification documents for the bidding of the main construction projects. The scope of the project mandates a construction project deadline slated for 2027. This is in anticipation for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup that is to be hosted in Saudi Arabia.
The scope of the project also entails splitting the project into four different elements. This is based on the urgency of the football stadiums being constructed. The most immediate of these four is the construction of a new stadium to the north of Riyadh. This project is also the largest of the four. The rest of the projects include the upgrading and renovation of the current existing football stadiums. This includes the capacity increase of King Stadium in Riyadh to a capacity of 92,000 seats. It also includes increasing the Prince Falsal bin Fahd stadium to 30,000 seats. The scope of the project also entailed the increase of the prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium to 45,000 seats. The stadium is located in Al-Khair.
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Saudi Arabia Invests in Football Stadiums in a Bid to Dominate the Growing Business of Global Football
The Kingdom is investing in football stadiums and other resources related to the sport quite intensively of late. This is in prospects of dominating the growing business of global football that is thriving. FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated that the sport is a $200bn a year economy. The Saudi Kingdom being the sole bidder for the 2034 FIFA World cup is their greatest milestone yet as a country. Saudi Arabia seeks to be ready to invest in football stadiums in readiness of the tournament. Saudi Arabia has witnessed first-hand the transformative effect that hosting a tournament that grand has on a nation. This was seen when their neighbors Qatar hosted the tournament last year.
