Saudi Arabia unveil plans for high-tech 45,000-seater stadium – including LED wall and retractable roof – built on a 200m tall cliff near Riyadh… with the arena set to be the new home of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr

Saudi Arabia has announced plans for a brand new modern stadium to be built within an hour’s drive of the capital Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 World Cup after Australia withdrew from the competition, giving the kingdom the final name in the hat to host the biggest football competition in a decade.

It comes as Saudi Arabia continues its bid to become one of the sporting capitals of the world, after heavy investment in golf, football and boxing, among others.

The past twelve months have seen particularly heavy investment in the country’s football scene, with the Saudi Pro League in particular becoming a major player in the transfer market.

The likes of Neymar Jr., Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, N’Golo Kante and Roberto Firmino to name a few, have followed Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia over the past twelve months.

Saudi Arabia has announced plans for a new, state-of-the-art stadium with LED walls and a retractable roof and pitch

The new Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium will be home to both Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal

Now the Gulf state has unveiled extensive plans for a brand new 45,000-seat stadium that will host matches at the World Cup in ten years’ time, although official confirmation of their hosting status is yet to be confirmed despite being unopposed.

It will be called the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium for the kingdom’s crown prince, and there are plans for a retractable roof and a pitch on a 200-metre-high cliff 40 minutes from Riyadh.

Part of the state-of-the-art plans also include a giant LED wall with hundreds of meters of screens leading out to views below ground.

“The futuristic venue aims to reinvent the traditional stadium concept,” Qiddiya Investment Company said in a statement.

The stadium’s architects, Populous, already have an impressive resume, having worked on several Olympic Stadiums and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The North London arena is notable for its pitch, which was custom-built to also host NFL matches, and is considered one of the most important stadiums in the country.

QIC is owned by the Public Investment Fund – which has also invested in LIV Golf and Newcastle United in the Premier League – which manages around £554.6 billion of Saudi Arabian state investments.

The new ground, once built, will also become the home ground for Riyadh-based clubs Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal.

The architects also worked on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which was custom-built for both NFL and football matches.

While Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has raised a few eyebrows, there are of course also environmental issues that come with such an ambitious construction project.

As such, the QIC announced that an artificial lake will be built beneath the stadium itself.

“The lake will use rainwater from the stadium and the surrounding area to pre-cool the air conditioning system,” the QIC added.

The land is expected to be the jewel of the Qiddiya City project, which aims to become a hub for the growing entertainment, gaming and sports industries within a short distance of the capital.