25 Jun 2014
Saudi Arabia to build 11 'world class' stadia
BY Tom Walker
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia has ordered the construction of 11 new 'world-class' sports stadia in the country.
According to local reports, the stadiums will be built in the provinces of Madinah, Al-Qassim, Asir, Tabuk, Hail, Jazan, Najran, Baha and Al-Jouf while there will also be venues for the Northern Border Region and Eastern Province.
The regions have been chosen as they currently have limited facilities to host elite-level sport events. Each of the new stadia will have a capacity of at least 45,000.
No timeline or design details have been confirmed for the developments, but the king has announced that he wants the new stadiums to match the facilities at the recently opened flagship Al-Jawhara stadium in Jeddah.
The 60,000-capacity Al-Jawhara, located at Jeddah's King Abdullah Sports City, opened in May.
Designed as a football stadium - it has no running track - facilities include conferencing space and a range of restaurants and hospitality outlets.
Al-Jawhara has been designed to host international competitions and is the first stadium in the country to have close circuit security cameras and numbered seats.
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