Saudi Arabia eyes world’s first ‘sky stadium’ within futuristic NEOM city: Reports
Riyadh: Social media has been abuzz with reports that Saudi Arabia is planning to build the world’s first “sky stadium” — a football arena suspended 350 metres above the desert within its futuristic NEOM megacity project.
According to reports circulating online, the proposed NEOM Sky Stadium will seat around 46,000 spectators, be powered by solar and wind energy, and could host matches during the 2034 FIFA World Cup, which Saudi Arabia is set to host. Construction is reportedly expected to begin in 2027 and finish by 2032, in line with the country’s preparations for the expanded 48-team tournament.
There's been no mention of the "sky stadium" in legacy Saudi media, as reported by Gulf News on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, several online reports citing Construction Review, claim that the NEOM Sky Stadium will be integrated into The Line, the linear smart city under the NEOM project. The magazine also claimed that the NEOM Sky stadium will be the "world’s first sky stadium” for the 2034 World Cup glory.
"The stadium is suspended at an astonishing 350 meters (1,150 feet) above the desert floor within the futuristic NEOM city of The Line", the magazine added.
An aerial projection of how the stadium would look like has gone viral on social media.
https://twitter.com/DeadlineDayLive/status/1982894966352556302
FIFA has reportedly given preliminary endorsement to the Sky Stadium project, recognising its potential to establish new benchmarks for environmentally friendly sports venues. The stadium’s proposed location, near NEOM’s Health and Well-Being District and University zone, is envisioned as a hub for sports and recreation.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
