Qiddiya bets big on Saudi Cup to anchor $40B entertainment city
Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya megaproject is galloping ahead with plans to make the Saudi Cup horse race a global showpiece, even as the kingdom trims spending on some other giant developments.
The $40 billion entertainment city is investing heavily in racing facilities and fan experiences tied to the world’s richest horse race, Arabian Gulf Business Insight reports.
The Saudi Cup itself carries a $20 million purse for the main race and more than $35 million across the race weekend, drawing top international horses and stables.
Backers see the high-stakes event as a headline attraction designed to anchor Qiddiya’s push to become a global sports and entertainment hub. The new venue will include a 21,000-seat grandstand and a 110-meter parade ring.
Qiddiya confirms sovereign funding for $40B “city for play”
Qiddiya officials say the $40 billion “city for play” project will rely comfortably on Saudi sovereign funding for years, despite recent calls for greater involvement from the private sector.
“We recognise that creating a brand-new city from scratch in the desert is a sovereign undertaking,” Qiddiya Investment Company Vice Chairman Morgan Parker said at the Cityscape conference held in Riyadh last week.
He added that building a city the size of Las Vegas will “take some time.” Qiddiya is located outside Riyadh with a motor racing track, 12 theme parks, 40 sports venues and 27 entertainment attractions.
The city expects to develop around 120 hotels with 41,000 rooms over the next 20 years.
The Six Flags Qiddiya amusement park held its soft-opening earlier this month, with an official launch expected on New Year’s Eve.
Costs for Saudi Arabia’s mega-projects keep getting higher
The price tag keeps on getting higher for Saudi Arabia’s ambitious national building program – from the futuristic city of Neom in the west to the Qiddiya cluster of theaters, theme parks and a Formula 1 track in Riyadh.
Tallying the expenditures indicated for all the property, infrastructure and tourism projects that the kingdom has started over the past eight years, Knight Frank, the London-based real estate consulting firm, estimates the total cost at $1.3 trillion, up 4% from a year ago.
About $164 billion worth of real estate contracts have been awarded since 2016, when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled his Vision 2030 strategy to wean the country off its dependence on oil and unleash underdeveloped industries such as mining, manufacturing, tourism and entertainment, Knight Frank said in a report.
The largest chunk of that money – $28.7 billion – has gone to Neom, with heavy spending on the development within it known as The Line, a pair of mirrored towers expected to eventually span more than 105 miles through the desert. Bloomberg reports.
Other banner projects include establishing the National Housing Co. with $12 billion to build more than 1 million homes, the development of Riyadh’s Diriyah Gate section at $9 billion and the entertainment city of Qiddiya in the capital with almost $7 billion.
