- ARAB NEWS
- 29 Apr 2024
Since 1975
RIYADH: There are plans to revamp Al-Awwal Park, home to Saudi Pro League football team Al-Nassr, and the club could even get brand new stadium similar to Riyadh rivals Al-Hilal’s Kingdom Arena.
Turki Alalshikh, chair of the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, said in a live TV interview during Al-Nassr’s friendly match against American Major League Soccer side Inter Miami on Thursday night that Riyadh Season was set to partner with the Saudi Media Company to develop the stadium.
SMC CEO Mohammed Alkhereiji later posted on social media site X a short video of Alalshikh’s surprise announcement.
He wrote: “Many thanks to His Excellency Counselor Turki Alalshikh for this initiative, and we at SMC confirm our pride in your trust and in implementing everything that will serve our generous nation to continue development and prosperity in light of the support of our leadership … Details of the project implementation will be announced.”
The state-of-the-art Kingdom Arena hosted its first match on Monday, an exciting game in which Al-Hilal defeated Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 4-3. It left fans of the most-decorated Saudi club looking forward to the action to come at their team’s new home, and many of them posted messages on social media expressing their pride in the new stadium.
Designed so that the stands are as close as possible to the pitch, it has a retractable roof, is fully air-conditioned, boasts 20 VIP hospitality boxes and has the capacity to hold between 30,000 and 40,000 people for certain events.
Al-Nassr play at King Saud University Stadium, known among fans as Al-Awwal Park. In September 2020, SMC obtained the management rights to operate the stadium and the following month the company signed an agreement with Al-Nassr for it to become their home ground.
