Riyadh Kingdom Arena major facelift plans

Article posted by Coliseum, June 20^th, 2024

Image: Coliseum GSVA

Turki Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority, announced recently that the capacity of the Saudi Pro League team Al Hilal SFC’s home stadium – the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – will be increased to 26,700 seats. He also announced major upgrade plans for the facility.

‘Leaders’ stated that taking to the social networking service ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Al-Sheikh wrote that the stadium’s capacity of 18,800 seats will be raised to 26,700 seats.

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)-based the General Entertainment Authority, formerly the General Authority for Entertainment, is a Government Department in Saudi Arabia that regulates the entertainment industry of the country.

The Al Hilal Saudi Football Club, simply known as Al Hilal, is a professional multisports club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their football team competes in the Saudi Pro League (the highest division of association football in the Saudi league system). In Arabic, Al Hilal means the crescent moon. It is the most decorated club in Asia, winning 69 official trophies.

The Kingdom Arena is a football stadium located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The stadium can hold 27,600 spectators in its football configuration and boasts a retractable roof. In September 2023, the Kingdom Holding Company obtained the management rights to operate the stadium as the home venue of the Al Hilal SFC. The arena opened its doors in October 2023.

‘Leaders’ further stated that Al-Sheikh added on ‘X’, “We will use a new technology for the first time in the stadium. This technology involves columns planted under the field floor that can emerge to cover the floor with aluminum panels. Moreover, we will equip these panels with agricultural lighting technology and ventilation technology. We have also reduced the rotation time of the facility from 10 days to 48 hours. The lighting arrangements of the facility, the dressing rooms, the conference room, the doping control room, the medical clinics, and the public lounges will be developed.”

The Kingdom Arena found its place in the Guinness Book of World Records recently as the largest indoor football stadium in the world in terms of area. It is also the largest indoor stadium in terms of crowd capacity.

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