www.stadiaworld.com SPORTS VENUES 2023/24 | 71 CONSTRUCTION while allowing enough natural light to shine to the pitch. The New Workers’ Stadium (68,000 seats), colloquially known as “Gongti”, was rebuilt over a period of two years and in its old form was already one of the venues for the Olympic Games in 2008. Since the exterior façade was not the subject of the reconstruction, it was mainly the interior of the stadium that was modernised. Like the stadium in Xi’an, it was originally planned for the Asian Cup 2023, but since the reconstruction it has been equipped with air conditioning and, after the removal of the running track, it is now purely a football stadium. Asia Cup 2027: New stadium projects in Saudi Arabia Away from the People’s Republic, too, various sports facilities are in the planning or construction phase. In addition to the Sheik Hasina Cricket Stadium in Bangladesh and the Es Con Field Hokkaido in Japan, Saudi Arabia is the main focus when it comes to construction projects on the Asian continent. The country, located on the Arabian Peninsula, will host the AFC Asian Cup in 2027, the first major international football tournament at national team level. Many see it as a kind of dress rehearsal for a future World Cup. A joint bid with Egypt and Greece was already planned for 2030, but was put on hold later again. Several construction projects are currently being planned for the Asian Cup to provide the necessary stadium infrastructure. Saudi Arabia applied with a total of eight stadiums and two back-up stadiums. With the King Fahd International Stadium, the King Saud University Stadium, the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, the Riyadh New Stadium and the Qiddiya Stadium, five of the selected sports venues are located in the capital Riyadh or shall be built there in the future. The desert state’s strategy is primarily to modernise existing venues and, according to its own statements, aims to “build a series of world-class stadiums for the sports and entertainment industry”. The construction projects focus on both the conversion of the King Fahd International Stadium from 58,398 to 80,015 seats and the Dammam Stadium (42,271 seats), which is already under construction. The reconstruction of the King Fahd International Stadium mainly concerns the removal of the running track, a lowering of the pitch and the construction of new stands. The Dammam Stadium is particularly impressive due to its adaptation to the local environmental influences. In addition to a façade that can absorb moisture from the air for cooling purposes, special panels can be aligned to control air flows to generate the best possible spectator experience. Saudi Arabia is implementing a total of ten projects (including two backup stadiums) for around 1.7 billion euros, with the construction of the new Qiddiya Stadium (321 million euros) being the largest cost item apart from the two projects mentioned above. The stadium is to be part of the newly created “Qiddiya City” and is to be built between 2021 and 2024. To date, no significant progress has been made on either the stadium or the city project itself. The King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh is set for a capacity increase. Picture: imago/Shutterstock Asian Cup 2027: Proposed venues Saudi Arabia bid Host city Stadium Project type Design Capacity Costs (in million euros) Main tenant/use after tournament Dammam Dammam Stadium New construction Foster + Partners 47,271 403 tba Dammam Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium 1) Reconstruction Populous 25,226 138 Al Ettifaq F.C.; Al Nahda F.C. Dammam Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Sports City 1) Reconstruction Populous 24,440 162 Al Qadsyah F.C. Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Reconstruction Arup 61,582 12 Al Ahli F.C.; Al Ittihad F.C. Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium Reconstruction tba 27,000 12 Al Ahli F.C.; Al Ittihad F.C. Riyadh King Fahd International Stadium Re-/ New construction Populous 80,015 322 Al Hilal F.C.; Al Shabab F.C.; national team; cultural events/concerts Riyadh King Saud University Stadium Reconstruction HOK 27,220 7 Al Nassr F.C. Riyadh Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium Reconstruction Populous 43,912 253 Al Hilal F.C.; Al Shabab F.C. Riyadh Qiddiya Stadium New construction Populous 22,163 321 Part of new “Qiddiya City” Riyadh Riyadh New Stadium New construction tba 21,082 88 tba 1) Backup stadium Status: 7/2023 Source: STADIAWORLD
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