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Saudi Arabia is set to build the world’s first ‘sky stadium’.
The venue, currently being labelled the NEOM Stadium, is set to be built far above ground level and a new unofficial concept video has sparked a huge buzz on social media.
The AI generated images show a venue perched atop a skyscraper, The Sun reports.
The stadium is expected to boast a capacity of 46,000 at an altitude of 350m above ground.
For comparison, that figure is 40m higher than the top of The Shard in London, which is Britain’s tallest building.
The Rialto Towers in Melbourne have a height of 251m.
The new AI vision appears to be a new concept for one of a series of futuristic stadiums planned for construction ahead of Saudi Arabia‘s hosting of the 2034 World Cup.
The nation released 15 concepts for high-tech stadiums to be completed before the tournament arrives in August of last year.
Among those was an idea for ‘NEOM Stadium,’ a ground set to be built atop the ambitious – and as yet unbuilt – NEOM ‘The Line’, an entire city meant to be built in a single long sideways skyscraper.
The so-called NEOM mega-city is a planned urban development project, announced in 2017, with suggestions the project will cost more than $1 trillion.
The specifications in regard to height and capacity remain the same between the concepts.
However, the new visuals appear to have done away with the idea of building the ground on top of the linear city, and instead have the stadium above a more traditional skyscraper.
The original plan was to begin construction on the stadium in 2027, and have it completed by 2032, ready to host games at the World Cup two years later.
Whether the new visuals mark a legitimate departure from the plan for the stadium is yet to be confirmed, with the buzz so far appearing to be primarily social media speculation based on the short video.
Among the other grounds slated for construction ahead of the tournament, one highlight is the King Salman Stadium, the biggest of the proposed venues.
The ground is set to house 92,000 people and serve as the new home of the Saudi national team.
Other stadiums feature glitzy designs such as mimicking a rock canyon formation, or being built into the side of a cliff face.
Saudi Arabia was officially awarded the rights to host the tournament in December, sparking outcry from humanitarian organisations.
The kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been using sport for some time now to amass influence and improve its global image.
A joint bid led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal has been awarded the 2030 hosting rights.
The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.
— This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission
