Leisure & Hospitality Saudi Arabia launches e-karting racing tracks in 6 cities Six cities in Saudi Arabia are set to get Hot Wheels e-karting racing tracks. The indoor e-karts will be a venture between Saudi Entertainment Ventures (Seven), part of Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), and US toy maker Mattel. The Hot Wheels e-karting will be available in entertainment complexes such as Riyadh, Makkah, Taif, Al Madinah, Tabuk, and Jazan. In January, Seven […] October 13, 2024
Business of Sport Riyadh Air signs stadium naming deal with Atlético Madrid The new Saudi Arabian carrier Riyadh Air has agreed a deal with the Spanish football club Atlético Madrid to rename the team’s stadium after the Gulf state airline. Atlético Madrid’s stadium, the Estadio Metropolitano, opened in 2017, will now be called the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. The stadium sponsorship deal is scheduled to run until 2033, […] October 9, 2024
Analysis Giga-projects World Cup and Expo wins divert funding to Riyadh Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects have slowed down because of financing constraints – and now the government’s unexpected success in bidding for global events is redirecting even more resources towards Riyadh. Even prestigious developments such as Neom, the $500 billion futuristic city in north-west Saudi Arabia, are taking second place. The priority is turning the capital into […] October 8, 2024
Business of Sport Egyptian developer invests $1bn in Saudi sports clubs Egyptian real estate developer Melee will spend SAR4.5 billion ($1.2 billion) to establish three new sports clubs in the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar, according to a company executive. The club in Al Khobar is slated to be first in line for completion before the end of the year, Gasser Bahgat, Melee […] September 24, 2024
Opinion Business of Sport Qatar scores Champions League deal in battle for Gulf skies Qatar Airways has added a new trophy to its prestigious sponsorship collection September 23, 2024
Business of Sport Tiger Woods joins LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger talks Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is reported to be due to meet Tiger Woods and officials from the PGA Tour this week in New York as negotiations continue to bring the fractured sport of golf together under one umbrella. The PIF-sponsored LIV Golf series, which this month completes its third season, turned the sport […] September 11, 2024
Business of Sport Middle East’s first pro baseball park to open in Dubai Construction has started on the first professional baseball field and ballpark in the Middle East and South Asia, which is being built on the outskirts of Dubai. Baseball United, which was launched over a year ago as the first professional league in the region, will call the Sevens sports and entertainment complex its home from […] September 4, 2024
Business of Sport Construction starts on Aramco football stadium in Al Khobar Construction has started on the Aramco football stadium in Al Khobar, one of the venues for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia. Belgian construction group BESIX made the announcement on its website over the weekend, saying the goal of delivering the 47,000-seat stadium by 2026 would be “challenging”. BESIX is working with Riyadh-based contractor […] September 2, 2024
Opinion Business of Sport Gulf sports wins are sidelined by the summer season An uncertain global economy has dampened sports investments fervour across the region August 29, 2024
Business of Sport Roma score commercial goal with Saudi signing Italian football club AS Roma will be anticipating commercial opportunities that might arise after it signed 25-year-old Saudi Arabian defender Saud Abdulhamid this week. Abdulhamid joined Roma from Al-Hilal in a deal worth $3.35 million. The transfer deal is the first involving a Saudi player and a major European league. “When I received the offer, […] August 28, 2024
Analysis Business of Sport Morocco makes 2030 World Cup a focus for investment The artist’s impression shows a massive polygonal structure, with an aluminium lattice roof draped in floating cream sheets. This is the Grand Stade Hassan II de Casablanca at Benslimane, north of Morocco’s commercial capital. The successful design was unveiled earlier this week by the winning architects, the Casablanca-based Oualalou + Choi and the arena specialist […] August 25, 2024
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia adds soccer in North America to sports portfolio Saudi Arabia has added the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) to its squad of sporting investments. The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund has partnered with the regional governing body for soccer “to support the growth of the sport at all levels”. The Public Investment Fund will sponsor football development initiatives, with […] August 16, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance Riyadh’s investment law reforms tipped to win over sceptics Saudi Arabia’s investment law reforms are poised to release a backlog of pent-up deals – and are a tacit admission that procedures have often been cumbersome, analysts have told AGBI. Under the overhaul announced on Sunday, elements of Vision 2030 and the National Investment Strategy will be combined in a single framework that aims to […] August 13, 2024
Business of Sport Football continues to attract tourists to Qatar Qatar’s strategy of staging major sporting events continues to reap economic benefits, as regional football tournaments help to attract tourists to the Gulf state. Visitor numbers rose 28 percent in the first half of 2024, benefitting its hotels and wider hospitality businesses. A total of 2.6 million international tourists visited in the first six months […] August 8, 2024
Business of Sport Investor bids invited for six Saudi football teams Saudi Arabia this week opened bids for six football teams as part of its new drive to monetise the kingdom’s sport sector and raise its foreign direct investment numbers. Local and international investors are invited to bid for Al-Okhdood, Al-Orouba and Al-Kholoud – all in Saudi Arabia’s top Pro League – as well as Al-Zulfi, […] August 8, 2024
Business of Sport PIF could buy into English cricket’s The Hundred Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is reportedly considering buying a stake in the UK’s The Hundred cricket tournament. The potential move comes after confirmation that the sovereign wealth fund will next turn its attention to the sport. PIF would acquire a new team to be established in Durham in England’s north-east, adding to the eight […] August 2, 2024
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid outlines 11 new stadiums Saudi Arabia plans to build 11 new stadiums as part of its 2034 World Cup bid, including one inside its horizontal city The Line, but without any breakdown of the costs. The Saudi bid – which is expected to win formal Fifa approval this year – centres on five cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Abha and […] August 1, 2024
Leisure & Hospitality Riyadh to get a new 45,000-seat stadium Riyadh, the Saudi capital, is set to house another new world-class stadium as the kingdom bets on becoming a global sporting hub. The 45,000-seat stadium in south-west Riyadh will be developed by Roshn Group, a giga-project developer backed by the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund. The stadium will be part of a […] July 31, 2024
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia formally bids to host Fifa World Cup 2034 Saudi Arabia has officially submitted its bid to host the Fifa World Cup 2034. The bid books will be published after the official deadline ends on July 31, the football governing body said in a statement. Saudi officials, including sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal and Saudi Arabian Football Federation president Yasser Al […] July 30, 2024
Opinion Business of Sport Hosting the Olympics is set to be a marathon for Gulf bidders If Qatar and Saudia Arabia bid for 2036 they face a race against time to train medal-winning talent July 29, 2024
Business of Sport King Salman Stadium in Riyadh to open in 2029 The King Salman Stadium in Riyadh – planned to be one of the world’s largest sports arenas – will be ready in the fourth quarter of 2029, as the kingdom continues its investments in the sports sector. The stadium will serve as the Saudi national team’s main headquarters, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency reported, quoting […] July 29, 2024
Opinion Business of Sport Gulf countries vie to add Olympics to the trophy cabinet Qatar and Saudi Arabia are keen to bid despite sky high costs July 22, 2024
