King Abdullah Sports City

Coordinates: 21°45′48″N 39°9′51″E / 21.76333°N 39.16417°E / 21.76333; 39.16417
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
King Abdullah Sports City Stadium
KASC (The Jewel Stadium)
BESIX, Al Muhaidib Contracting Company
Tenants
Al-Ahli (2014–present)
Al-Ittihad (2014–present)
Saudi Arabia national football team (selected matches)
Website
www.kasc.com

King Abdullah Sports City (

multi-use stadium and sports city located 30 kilometers north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The city was named after Abdullah, King of Saudi Arabia when the stadium opened.[1]

The main stadium (King Abdullah International Stadium) is used for

indoor arenas. The stadium also hosted matches of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup
.

The bid for the construction was won by

BESIX Group.[2]

The company also provided an independent evaluation of the performance of local staff and the event safety officer (provided by Sword Security) during the inaugural event at the KASC stadium. This led to a significant number of safety and security recommendations and the appointment of a dedicated Stadium Manager.

The stadium field surface is paspalum turfgrass marketed as Pure Dynasty Seeded Paspalum and provided by Atlas Turf International.[3]

Background and construction

The idea of a new large stadium in the city of

Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium
, accommodating 24,000 and hosting numerous great matches and events in Saudi football history.

Designed and delivered by Arup Associates' architects and delivered by Arup's engineers.

Opening ceremony

The city opened officially on May 1, 2014, hosting the final of the

Muqrin
.

Facilities

Outside the main stadium, the city has three separate football fields and four small indoor arenas also used for football. It also has six

press conferences
for players, coaches, and football personalities.

Tickets and seating capacity

The main stadium can fit up to 63,241 in attendance. The lower section of the stadium (L) contains 38 blocks accommodating 631 seats per block with a total of 24,000 seats. The middle section (M) contains 48 blocks accommodating 500 seats per block with a total of 24,000 seats. The upper and smallest section (U) has 48 blocks accommodating 291 seats per block with a total of 14,000 seats. The stadium also holds hundreds of private seats and car parking spots reserved to those of special needs.

The maximum viewers witnessed was for Brazil national football team against Argentina national football team with 62,345.

Records

As of April 2, 2017:
  • The first match held at the stadium was between
    King's Cup
    final on May 1, 2014.
  • The first game win and championship win in the stadium was for Al-Shabab on May 1, 2014.
  • The biggest attendance was 62,241 fans in the opening ceremony between Al-Ahli and Al-Shabab on May 1, 2014.
  • The biggest attendance in the
    Al-Hilal
    on December 1, 2014. The match ended 0–0.
  • The first
    Al-Ittihad
    on December 19, 2014, in the Saudi League. The match ended 1–1, with over 59,026 fans in attendance.
  • Al-Ahli
    have the most wins in the stadium with 52 overall wins.
  • Al-Ittihad
    have the most losses in the stadium with 19 overall losses.
  • Al-Ittihad
    have the most draws in the stadium with 15 overall draws.
  • Fernando Menegazzo scored the first goal at the stadium, from a penalty kick on May 1, 2014.
  • The first goal scored from open play was for Al-Shabab's Muhannad Assiri, on May 1, 2014.
  • The first
    Hajer
    on August 16, 2014.
  • The first red card was endured by Al-Ahli's defender
    Ageel Balghaith
    on May 1, 2014.
  • Saudi Arabia beat East Timor 7–0, on September 3, 2015, to record the biggest win for a home team.
  • The heaviest defeat suffered by a home team was on May 8, 2016, when Al Ittihad lost 5–0 to
    Al-Nassr
    .
  • The highest scoring match was on February 4, 2016, between
    Al-Raed
    which ended 5–3, with 8 goals being scored.

Other events

WWE

The stadium hosted

Big Cass.[6]

The event was a part of a 10-year strategic multi-platform partnership between WWE and the

Saudi General Sports Authority in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program.[7]

WWE returned to Jeddah on June 7, 2019, with Super ShowDown, which featured the first ever 50-man Battle Royal.[8] The Undertaker and Goldberg competed in the main event.

Boxing

On October 8, 2017, a deal was agreed for the complex to host the final of the

World Boxing Super Series: Cruiserweight tournament in May 2018.[9]

“This agreement is part of our broader commitment and work to develop the sport of boxing in Saudi Arabia. Having the first final of such a high profile and groundbreaking tournament take place in Saudi Arabia is a key milestone for us, and will be one of many major sports events to take place in the Kingdom next year.”

— Turki Al-Alsheikh, former president of
The General Sports Authority

“This is fantastic news, not just for World Boxing Super Series

but for boxing and for the sport in Saudi Arabia. We have seen huge and growing interest in the World Boxing Super Series from fight fans, broadcasters, commercial partners and venue owners from the major boxing markets around the world.”

— Roberto Dalmiglio, CEO of Comosa

In February 2018, the final was set to be

Moscow, Russia. Usyk won the fight via a dominant unanimous decision.[10][11]

On July 5, it was rumoured the

WBSS super middleweight final between George Groves vs. Callum Smith, an all-British fight, would not take place in the UK and likely to take place in Jeddah.[12] Both boxers made their opinions known that it was not ideal the final should take place Jeddah as it would be much bigger in the UK, however there was no complaints from either side. There was more frustration at the bout being postponed.[13][14] The final was announced to take place on September 28 at a 10,000 capacity arena at the Complex.[15]

A

'Clash on the Dunes' at the Diriyah arena during 2019. The boxing match is set to take place on Saturday the 20th of August 2022 with a maincard including the first all female boxing fight in Saudi Arabia.[17][18][19]

Tennis

From 2023 to 2027, the Next Generation ATP Finals will be hosted in the stadium.

See also

References

  1. ^ "King Abdullah Sports City debuts on May 1". Arab News. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  2. ^ "King Abdullah Sports City Project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | BAM Sports GMBH". Archived from the original on 2012-12-15. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  3. ^ "Pitch Manager of Saudi Stadium a Fan of Pure Dynasty® Seeded Paspalum". Atlas Turf International. 12 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Al Ahli vs Al Shabab - Saudi Arabia Pro League Head to Head (H2H) Statistics and Match Preview". Soccerpunter.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  5. ^ WWE.com staff (March 5, 2018). "Saudi Arabia to host the Greatest Royal Rumble". WWE. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  6. ^ "Seven title bouts, 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble Match announced for Greatest Royal Rumble". WWE. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  7. ^ "National Transformation Program 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  8. ^ "Undertaker, Goldberg to clash for first time ever at WWE Super ShowDown". WWE. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  9. ^ "Jeddah set to host World Boxing Super Series final". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  10. ^ "Usyk-Gassiev WBSS title fight postponed". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  11. ^ "Usyk vs. Gassiev Officially Announced For July 21, Moscow". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  12. ^ "George Groves vs. Callum Smith Not Likely To Land in UK". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  13. ^ "Callum Smith says a World Boxing Super Series final in Saudi Arabia would not be ideal". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  14. ^ "Boxing News at Five: WBSS bantamweight collection is complete, George Groves isn't happy, and MTK Global sign Nordine Oubaali - Boxing News". Boxing News. 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  15. ^ "Groves vs. Smith Finalized For September 28 in Jeddah". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  16. ^ "Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk II confirmed for 20 August in Saudi Arabia the rematch". bbc.co.uk. 19 June 2022.
  17. ^ "OLEKSANDR USYK VS. ANTHONY JOSHUA 2: DATE, FIGHT TIME, TV CHANNEL AND LIVE STREAM". dazn.com. 16 August 2022.
  18. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua rematch: Undercard confirmed including historic women's fight in Saudi Arabia". skysports.com. 27 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua 2: Fight card, odds, location, PPV price, start time, date, complete guide". cbssports.com. 18 August 2022.

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