Al-Qadisiyah Signs Tijjani Reijnders as New Stadium Nears Completion
Al-Qadisiyah supporters woke up on Wednesday to find the club moving like a team in a hurry. One headline dominated the morning: the signing of Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders from Manchester City.
But the new arrival was only half the story.
A new star and a new stage
While fans celebrated the capture of Reijnders, Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadiyah revealed that the club’s new home, Aramco Stadium, is close to completion and almost ready to stage matches.
Workers have finished transporting and installing the pitch, using cutting-edge technology drawn from the construction of top-tier international arenas. The surface is now in place and ready for football, a crucial step as Al-Qadisiyah prepare for a landmark season.
Aramco Stadium will hold around 47,000 spectators across all categories, wrapped in modern hospitality facilities and digital services designed to streamline entry, movement, and matchday experience.
Fifteen internal gates feed into the stands, supported by smart crowd-management systems and tailored solutions to guide fans through the venue and cut congestion before kick-off and after the final whistle.
European ideas, Saudi stage
The report also detailed several technologies imported from leading European stadiums. The pitch includes an integrated system to draw off rainwater, accelerating drainage and limiting disruption during matches when the weather turns.
Ventilation has been treated as seriously as the playing surface. The stadium links to an air-conditioning system with a cooling capacity of 22,500 tonnes, designed to reach every corner of the ground and keep conditions under control.
Engineers didn’t leave airflow to chance. They used advanced simulation tools during the design phase to fine-tune how air moves through the bowl, chasing maximum comfort and efficiency even when the climate outside is at its harshest.
Ready for the elite
All of it points in one direction. Al-Qadisiyah want no excuses. With the club set to appear in the AFC Champions League Elite for the first time in its history, they are building not just a squad with names like Reijnders, but a stage worthy of Asia’s top tier.
