Sports Boulevard, a monumental project poised to transform Riyadh’s urban fabric and redefine how residents experience the city, is keenly eyeing the launch of work on its landmark Global Sports Tower, designed to be the tallest sports tower in the world.

The tower is located in the Athletics District of the Sports Boulevard on Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Road in Riyadh.

Standing at 130 m tall with a total internal area of 84,000 sq m, the tower will feature more than 30 different sports facilities. Among these are two world-record-breaking attractions: a 98-m-tall indoor climbing wall – the world’s tallest – and the world’s highest running track, a fully digitised 250-m circuit.

The architectural design is distinguished by its adherence to “Salmani architecture”, which blends traditional authenticity with modern elements, establishing it as a unique landmark. The project’s primary purpose is to promote a sports culture and a healthy lifestyle among Riyadh’s residents and visitors, as part of the broader effort to make the city one of the most livable in the world. The designs for the tower were approved by the Sports Boulevard Foundation’s board of directors, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

The Sports Boulevard project extends for more than 135 km on Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Road, connecting Wadi Hanifah in the West with Wadi Al Sulai in the East through a grid of safe green pathways for pedestrians, cyclists, athletes, and horse riders. The project includes more than 4.4 million sq m of greenery and open spaces and up to 50 multidisciplinary sports facilities. In addition, there are several unique destinations and investment zones, covering a total an area that exceeds 3 million sq m.

The Sports Boulevard marked key milestones with opening of the first phase at the end of February. With this, five key destinations – Wadi Hanifah, the Promenade, the section at the intersection of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Road and Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz Al-Awwal Road, the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University internal loop and the first phase of Sands Sports Park – were completed involving a total length of 83 km, with overall progress having reached 40 per cent.