Tabuk, Tabuk Province · Opened 2003 · Capacity 20,000
King Khalid Sport City Stadium
History
King Khalid Sport City Stadium in Tabuk serves as the current home of NEOM FC, the Saudi Pro League club associated with Saudi Arabia's futuristic mega-project in the northwest of the Kingdom. The 20,000-seat venue, which opened in 2003 as part of a broader sports complex, was originally built to serve the sporting needs of Tabuk, a historic city near the Jordanian border that has long been an important military and administrative center. The stadium's adoption by NEOM FC as their home ground while the NEOM project's own sporting facilities remain under development has given this established venue a sudden and unexpected prominence.
The stadium features a main grandstand with covered seating and open terracing on the remaining sides, a design common to Saudi sports city complexes of the early 2000s. The playing surface is maintained to SPL standards, with irrigation systems designed to cope with Tabuk's semi-arid climate, which is cooler than central Saudi Arabia due to the city's northern latitude and elevation. Evening matches benefit from pleasant temperatures that make the matchday experience comfortable for spectators who have grown accustomed to the air-conditioned viewing required at hotter venues.
NEOM FC's presence in the Saudi Pro League is part of the broader NEOM mega-project, a planned city covering 26,500 square kilometers on the Red Sea coast that aspires to be a global hub for innovation, technology, and sustainability. The football club was established as part of the project's community and entertainment strategy, and its SPL participation has been one of the most visible early manifestations of the NEOM brand. Using King Khalid Sport City Stadium as an interim home has introduced SPL football to the Tabuk region, which previously had limited exposure to top-flight competition.
The long-term plan envisions NEOM FC eventually playing in purpose-built facilities within the NEOM development itself, a prospect that would create one of the most architecturally ambitious sporting venues in world football. For now, King Khalid Sport City Stadium provides a solid, functional home that allows the club to compete at the highest level while the vision for NEOM's permanent sporting infrastructure takes shape. The stadium's location at the crossroads of Saudi Arabia's present and its imagined future makes it one of the most symbolically charged venues in the entire league.