King Fahd Sports City Stadium (), also nicknamed "The Tent" ( ) or "Pearl of Stadiums" ( ), is a

Multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

and the main Stadium of the sports city in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, the stadium is currently closed for reconstruction that will expand it to approximately 70,200 seats by 2026.

Overview

The stadium was built in 1987, with

Majed Abdullah Majed Ahmed Abdullah (; born 11 January 1959) is a Saudi Arabian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker for Al Nassr FC, Al-Nassr and the Saudi Arabia national football team, ...

scoring the first goal there. It hosted matches of the

1989 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Saudi Arabia between 16 February and 3 March 1989. The 1989 championship was the 7th contested. The tournament took place across four cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Ta' ...

, including the final. In September 2017, as part of

Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 (, sometimes called Project 2030) is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi crown pri ...

, there was a celebration of the 87th anniversary of the foundation of Saudi Arabia with concerts and performances. For the first time, women were allowed into the stadium. The stadium has been included in the FIFA series of video games since the 2013 edition, when the

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

began featuring in the game, while a modified version with two tiers all around was featured in the

Pro Evolution Soccer ''eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer'' (''eFootball PES''), known as in Japan, is a series of association football List of association football video games, simulation video games developed by Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. and published ...

series during the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

era under the name "Nakhon Ratchasima", due to its resemblance (or lack thereof) to the

80th Birthday Stadium The 80th Birthday Stadium is a sports facility in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand. It is the main stadium in His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday Anniversary, 5 December 2007, Sports Complex. It is home to Nakh ...

that hosted the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand. The cost of construction was about 1.912 billion Saudi riyals or $510 million. The stadium's roof covers an area of 47,000

square feet The square foot (; abbreviated sq ft, sf, or ft2; also denoted by '2 and ⏍) is an imperial unit and U.S. customary unit (non- SI, non-metric) of area, used mainly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pa ...

and held up by 24 columns arranged in a 247-metre diameter circle, creating an umbrella effect that shades spectators from the hot desert sun. A special pavilion for members of the royal family is also included.

Events

The stadium's first major musical event was holding a concert by

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

, which was their first concert in the Middle East, as part of their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself World Tour on 11 October 2019. This made the band the first international act to perform in the stadium. They played to an audience of 31,899 people. The stadium hosted

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

's event Crown Jewel on 31 October 2019. The stadium also hosted all the three matches of the 2022 Supercopa de España, which was won by

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. The semi-final between

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and Real Madrid was the first official to be held in a stadium outside of Spain. On 28 October 2022,

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...

performed during the opening ceremony of Saudi Games 2022. On 15 January 2023, the 2023 Supercopa de España final was hosted in the stadium with Barcelona winning the cup. Three days later, the stadium hosted the 2022 Supercoppa Italiana between

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

and

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

References

External links

World Stadium ArticleWorld Football ProfileSoccerway Profile
{{Coord, 24, 47, 18, N, 46, 50, 21, E, type:landmark, display=title 1987 establishments in Saudi Arabia Football venues in Saudi Arabia Buildings and structures in Riyadh Sports venues in Saudi Arabia Athletics (track and field) venues in Saudi Arabia

Multi-purpose stadiums in Saudi Arabia Venues of the 2034 Asian Games 1992 King Fahd Cup 1995 King Fahd Cup Sport in Riyadh Sports venues completed in 1987

Overview

Events

See also

References

External links