Dubai Sports City announces plans for 1.5 billion Dirhams stadia and retail mall complex

GMP has been appointed to design four state of the art stadia, linked with a retail mall with parking and other spectator facilities.

Abdulrahman Bukhatir, Partner, Dubai Sports City said, "We selected GMP following a global competition to design the four stadia linked by the shopping mall with parking and other spectator facilities. We want to create some of the best and most recognisable sporting venues in the world and attract the best individuals and the best teams to Dubai Sports City so that we can present the very best of world sport. Our aim is that Dubai Sports City becomes the very centre of the sporting world."

Hubert Nienhoff, Partner GMP said, "This will be the first time that a complex of such size has been built anywhere in the world. The stadia and the retail mall can be in full operation at the same time."

The design principle is to be state of the art whilst recognising the functionality of each stadium for individual sports. All playing surfaces and pitch or court dimensions will be pre-approved by the relevant sports international governing body in order to guarantee their suitability for international tournaments and events.

Despite the special characteristics of each stadium the architecture of the four buildings will create a harmonious overall impression. The filigree roof support structures are specially developed to cope with local conditions. The result is innovative and cost efficient support structures that not only feature top quality architectural design but also take into account the local conditions.

There is a car park for 10,000 cars and a Grand Plaza, which will provide access to the stadia and retail mall. The Grand Plaza will provide additional leisure facilities. The roofs of the retail mall and parking create a big garden which landscapes the stadia.

The multi purpose stadium will have 25,000 seats and will be suitable for soccer, rugby, track and field.

The indoor stadium will seat 10,000 and is designed for all hard-court games and conventional indoor sports including, tennis, ice hockey, boxing, wrestling and martial arts. In addition concerts and special events can be held in the indoor stadium.

The cricket stadium is designed for 25,000 spectators and next to that will be the field hockey stadium with 10,000 seats.

Dubai Sports City attaches great importance to the lavish design of the spectator, VIP and media facilities and expects to set new standards in these areas. These will be announced at a later date.