King Abdullah Sports City
King Abdullah Sports City (Arabic: مدينة الملك عبدالله الرياضية), also nicknamed The Shining Jewel (Arabic: الجوهرة المشعة, romanized: al-Jawhara Al-Moshe'ah) or simply The Jewel, is a 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.
KASC (The Jewel Stadium) | |
| Full name | King Abdullah Sports City Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | North of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
| Coordinates | 21°45′48″N 39°9′51″E21°45′47.6″N 39°9′51″E |
| Owner | Ministry of Sport |
| Operator | Saudi Aramco |
| Capacity | 62,345 |
| Record attendance | 62,345 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | Yes |
| Construction | |
| Built | 2012–2014 |
| Opened | May 1, 2014 |
| Construction cost | $560 million |
| Architect | Arup Associates |
| Structural engineer | Arup |
| Services engineer | Arup |
| Main contractors | BESIX, Al Muhaidib Contracting Company |
| Tenants | |
| Al-Ahli (2014–present) Al-Ittihad (2014–present) Saudi Arabia national football team | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The main stadium (King Abdullah International Stadium) is used for football, reaching a full capacity of 62,241 spectators. It is the biggest stadium in Jeddah, and the second biggest in Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh's King Fahd Stadium. Additionally, it is the 10th biggest stadium in the Arab world, and one of the biggest stadiums in Asia. Surrounding the main stadium are smaller sports venues. It also hosts athletics and indoor sporting events in indoor arenas. The stadium also hosted matches of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup.
The bid for the construction was won by Saudi Aramco and the contractor for this project was a joint venture between Al Muhaidib Contracting Company and Belgian construction company BESIX Group.
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.