Saudi Arabia dynamic move on key sports venues

Image: King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, saudipics, CC BY-SA 4.0

Saudi Arabia has unveiled a major initiative to open up the key sports venues to private sector investment signaling a significant step forward in the Kingdom’s efforts to transform the industry.

‘ARAB NEWS’ stated that announced by the Ministry of Sport the Sports Facilities Investment Project offers the private investors access to three of Saudi Arabia’s premier sports complexes: The 62,345-capacity King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, the 27,000-capacity Prince Abdullah AlFaisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah and the 27,672-capacity King Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium in Mecca.

Under the above initiative a range of five-year renewable contracts will be made available. These include naming rights, leasing arrangements for non-matchday use and contracts to manage, operate and maintain the venues.

‘ARAB NEWS’ further stated that the above move supports Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s national strategy to diversify its economy and position the country as a global destination for sports, tourism and entertainment.

The Saudi Vision 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 the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. It was first announced on April 25^th, 2016 by the Saudi Government.

With the 2034 FIFA World Cup™ on the horizon the Government is stepping up efforts to attract private capital into its burgeoning sports sector.

The 2034 FIFA World Cup™ will be the 25^th FIFA World Cup™, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the Men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA. In December 2024 Saudi Arabia was formally confirmed as the host nation by FIFA following an uncontested bidding process. It will be the third tournament hosted in Asia after Korea and Japan in 2002 and Qatar in 2022. Saudi Arabia will be the second host nation from the Arabian Peninsula in the space of 12 years. It will also be the first time the tournament will be hosted by a single nation since 2022.

The initiative is part of “modern operational models that aim to raise facility efficiency, improve service quality, broaden commercial opportunities, and enhance the fan experience.”

Saudi Arabia’s sports industry is currently valued at $8 billion and is projected to grow to $22.4 billion by 2030 fueled by investments in sports clubs, academies, facilities, and equipment.

The Government has already identified 20 high-priority investment opportunities within the sector with a combined potential value of up to $20 billion.

Hosting the 2034 World Cup is expected to further accelerate this growth with forecasts indicating over 10 million international visitors, 1.5 million new jobs and an economic boost of $9 billion to $14 billion to the national gross domestic product (GDP). The tournament will be staged across 15 stadiums in Cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, Alkhobar, Abha, and the futuristic City of NEOM.

NEOM is a planned futuristic City in Northwestern Saudi Arabia envisioned as a technologically advanced, sustainable and car-free Metropolis. It is a key part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy to diversify the economy away from oil dependence.

Interested investors are encouraged to submit proposals via the Government’s ‘Furas’ investment portal during the designated application period.

The officials described the project as a strategic gateway into one of the Kingdom’s most dynamic and fast-growing industries.

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