Qiddiya Investment Company has tendered construction for the back-of-house infrastructure of the world’s first Dragon Ball theme park, marking a further step in the delivery of Saudi Arabia’s expanding entertainment and tourism programme.
According to Emerging Travel, bids for the package are due on 13 September. The tender relates to enabling infrastructure rather than ride installation, suggesting the project remains in an early construction phase. The scope includes plant rooms, facilities management buildings, workshops, storage warehouses, central kitchens, a monorail depot, a fire station, parking and utilities.
For theme park developers, operators and supply chain partners, this stage is significant. Back-of-house delivery often determines how efficiently a major attraction can operate once guest-facing works come forward. Facilities for maintenance, food production, transport, utilities and emergency response are central to capacity planning and long-term operational resilience.
Qiddiya Investment Company has not yet announced an opening date for the Dragon Ball park. The current tender indicates that the project is being advanced as part of a longer pipeline within Qiddiya City, where the first major attractions are already trading.
A Large-Scale Anime-Based Park Format
The Dragon Ball theme park is planned to cover more than 500,000 sq m and will be organised across seven themed zones. Areas announced for the site include Kame House, Capsule Corporation and Beerus’ Planet, all drawn from the long-running Japanese franchise.
The park is expected to include more than 30 rides and experiences. Five signature attractions will be arranged around a 70-metre Shenron figure, with the dragon structure planned to contain a major rollercoaster. The development also includes themed hotels, positioning the project as a multi-day leisure destination rather than a standalone attraction.
For the global visitor experience sector, the project is notable because it brings a major Japanese anime IP into a purpose-built theme park at significant scale. While anime has long supported retail, exhibitions, live events and temporary activations, a permanent park of this size signals a more ambitious use of the format in location-based entertainment.
Qiddiya licensed the franchise from Toei Animation under an agreement signed in 2024. Falcon’s Creative Group, based in Orlando, was appointed masterplan designer in the same year. Site grading and enabling works were completed last year.
Qiddiya’s Wider Attraction Pipeline
The Dragon Ball project forms part of Qiddiya City, a 360 sq km development south west of Riyadh backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The wider destination is already partly operational. Six Flags Qiddiya City opened at the end of December 2025 with 28 rides across six themed lands, including Falcon’s Flight. It became the first Six Flags park designed and built outside North America. Aquarabia followed in March, offering 22 rides across eight zones on a 250,000 sq m site. Six Flags Entertainment operates both parks.
Further planned assets include a Formula One circuit targeting a 2027 debut, Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium for the 2034 World Cup, a horse racing venue, an e-games arena, a performing arts centre, Speed Park and the National Tennis Centre.
Strategic Relevance For Global Operators
Qiddiya is a key component of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy, which is seeking to grow tourism, sport and entertainment as part of broader economic diversification. With around two-thirds of Saudi nationals under 35, the destination is being planned around a large youth market and international visitor growth.
For international designers, manufacturers, operators and IP owners, the Dragon Ball tender points to continuing opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s giga-project pipeline. It also shows how major destinations are using globally recognised entertainment brands, themed hotels and high-capacity infrastructure to build integrated leisure districts at scale.
