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Saudi Arabia’s Sports Ministry has issued a notice inviting companies to prequalify for a contract to design and build the King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh.

The notice was issued on 26 November, with a prequalification deadline of 16 February.

The stadium will cover an area of about 660,000 square metres (sq m) and will have a seating capacity of 92,000.

The stadium will feature a 150-seat royal suite, 120 hospitality suites, 300 VIP seats and 2,200 dignitary seats.

The plan also includes several sports facilities covering more than 360,000 sq m, including two training fields and fan zones; a closed sports hall; an Olympic-sized swimming pool; an athletics track; and outdoor courts for volleyball, basketball and padel.

The new stadium will host the final of the 2034 Fifa World Cup and will serve as the Saudi national football team’s main headquarters.

US-based architectural firm Populous is the lead architect for the stadium.

Construction of the stadium is expected to be completed by 2029.

The stadium will be located next to King Abdulaziz Park.

Saudi Arabia stadium plans

In August last year, MEED reported that Saudi Arabia plans to build 11 new stadiums to host the Fifa World Cup in 2034.

Eight stadiums will be located in Riyadh, four in Jeddah and one each in Al-Khobar, Abha and Neom.

An additional 10 cities will host training bases. These are Al-Baha, Jazan, Taif, Medina, Alula, Umluj, Tabuk, Hail, Al-Ahsa and Buraidah.

There are expected to be 134 training sites across the kingdom, including 61 existing facilities and 73 new training venues.

The kingdom was officially selected to host the 2034 Fifa World Cup through an online convention of Fifa member associations at the Fifa Congress on 11 December 2024.