RIYADH: The opening night at Kingdom Arena could not have gone any better for new tenants Al-Hilal.
An exciting 4-3 win over Lionel Messi and Inter Miami left fans of Saudi Arabia’s most decorated club thirsting for more action at the state-of-the-art new home in Riyadh.
The highly anticipated match, part of Inter Miami’s preparations ahead of the opening match of the Major League Soccer on Feb. 21, did not disappoint, with new Uruguayan signing Luis Suarez, Messi, via a penalty, and David Ruiz scoring for the visitors while the home team racked up four goals through Aleksander Mitrovic, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Michael, and Malcolm.
While Al-Hilal’s supporters lapped up the victory on the pitch, and the chance to see Messi in live action perhaps for the last time, there was also delight at the experience in the stands.
Al-Hilal have a stadium worthy of the club, and many fans on social media echoed the same sentiment; “pride.”
Kingdom Arena has the capacity to hold between 30,000 to 40,000 visitors, has a retractable roof, is fully air-conditioned, and boasts 20 VIP hospitality boxes.
The stadium was designed so the stands are close to the pitch, which has dimensions 68m x 105m, while the roof sits at a height of 47m.
Next up for Al-Hilal at Kingdom Arena is another friendly against city rivals Al-Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo, following Messi and co in experiencing the new venue.
After the prolonged break for the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, Al-Hilal will next return to action at the Kingdom Arena first in the Roshn Saudi League when they welcome Al-Raed on Feb. 18, before following that up with the second leg of the AFC Champions League against Sepahan of Iran on Feb. 22 (the first leg is on Feb. 15).
With Al-Hilal top of the SPL with 53 points from 19 matches — seven points ahead of second-place Al-Nassr — and a favorite to claim a record-extending fifth AFC Champions League title, supporters of the Blue Waves could soon be celebrating more trophies at their shiny new home.
