The stadium was broke ground in April 2012 and was completed in December 2014. It was planned that Al Ain faced Manchester City in the inaugural ceremony of the stadium, but City drew 1–1 with Blackburn Rovers in an English FA Cup match on 4 January and a replay with Rovers scheduled on 15 January prevented the English Premier League champions from a trip to the UAE. However the friendly was instead played after the Premier League season was over and Manchester City beat Al Ain 3–0. The stadium hosted the 2017 and 2018 FIFA Club World Cups, as well as the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.