Qiddiya plans race ahead despite giga-project rollback

• Qiddiya to host horse racing track
• Saudi Cup race will move
• 21,000-seat grandstand

Saudi Arabia may be scaling back some of its ambitious giga-projects, but Qiddiya, its $40 billion “city for play” has announced a new horse-racing venue.

The Qiddiya stadium and track will play host to the Saudi Cup, the world’s richest horse race. It is one of 40 planned sports venues in Qiddiya, located about 45 minutes south west of Riyadh. Proposals also include a motor racing track, 12 theme parks and 27 entertainment attractions.

The Six Flags Qiddiya amusement park officially launched on New Year’s Eve, while the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, a cliff-top stadium with a retractable pitch and roof, is being built with a view to hosting matches for the Asian Cup in 2027 and Fifa World Cup in 2034.

“We want to have attractions that take people to them all year round,” said Marc Archer, senior director, sports business development and partnerships at the Qiddiya Investment Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Speaking at the PIF Private Sector Forum this week, Archer said a further venue will be announced in the next couple of months “that will have capacity to host a number of different events”.

The horse racing venue will include the region’s first straight-mile turf course, alongside a 2,200-metre main turf track and a 2,400-metre inner dirt track, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

The venue will house a 21,000-seat grandstand with the ability to expand capacity to up to 70,000 guests through event overlays during major race days. There will also be a 110-metre parade ring and an equine hospital.

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Away from Qiddiya, the kingdom’s investment minister Khalid Al Falih said this week the giga-project Neom and its centrepiece The Line were to be pushed down the pecking order because of tighter budgets as Saudi Arabia switches focus to the 2034 World Cup and Expo 2030.

PIF, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which is fuelling the Vision 2030 development programme, has slashed budgets across its portfolio companies since 2024 as the price of oil fell from an average of $81 a barrel to below $64.

The fund is expected to announce elements of its revised long-term investment strategy that will guide it through to the 2030 deadline.