Social media has been abuzz this week with a viral video of a soccer stadium perched at the top of a skyscraper, along with the claim that it will be built as one of the venues for matches at the 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The short, unofficial clip purporting to depict the concept supposedly reveals plans for a $1 billion, 46,000-seater arena in the futuristic new city of NEOM that will perch high atop a purpose-built skyscraper, 350 metres (1,150 feet) above the ground.
It remains unclear who created and initially shared the clip, which has sparked plenty of excitement online but also several questions: Will the building be secure and architecturally sound? How long will the queue for the elevators be after the game? Was it designed intentionally to look so much like the Eye of Sauron?
But while the computer-generated clip may have convinced some people that it is a vision of the future, the truth is that it’s a work of science fiction. However, the reality is still something to behold.
The actual stadium proposed for construction in NEOM has been officially listed as one of the 15 host stadiums being either renovated or built from scratch for the FIFA 2034 World Cup for almost a year, and the Saudis do plan for it to be 350 metres above the ground. That is because they plan for it to form part of The Line, a proposed smart, green city in Neom that will eventually extend in linear fashion for over 100 miles across the northwest Saudi province of Tabuk by 2045, powered entirely by renewable energy.
The 46,000-capacity NEOM Stadium will be designed and constructed in partnership with Neom, the Saudi Ministry of Sport and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) with work set to begin in 2027 and conclude in 2032, two years before the World Cup kicks off.
Presented as part of Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid book (p. 107), published by FIFA in November 2024, the Neom project was introduced as “the most unique stadium in the world” with preliminary plans mentioning a “striking landmark” in the first district of The Line, which will be built around a large man-made marina as a fully functioning showpiece section of the city ahead of the tournament.
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The plans show the NEOM Stadium being integrated into the roofline of The Line’s remarkable vertical cityscape and forming the hub of what will be a “sports-focused neighbourhood” that contains a World Cup festival fan park as well as myriad hotels, apartments, an airport, a hospital and a fully electric shuttle transport system.
While technically over 1,000 feet in the air, the stadium will occupy the fourth and fifth level of The Line’s dense, five-tier megastructure, and therefore would not be as perilously exposed as a single skyscraper.
If the images that went viral this week have achieved anything — beyond grabbing plenty of online attention — it is that now the real Saudi plan for a 350-metre-high, 100-mile long megacity suddenly doesn’t seem quite so far-fetched.
But when it comes to considering either high-altitude stadium, we still have the same question: What would happen if a ball is kicked over the top tier of the stands and began hurtling down at terminal velocity? It would be a brave pedestrian who attempted to bring that ball under control.
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