New Dubai cricket stadium officially opens
by Pete Hayman | 22 Apr 2009
A one day international cricket match between Australia and Pakistan has marked the official opening of a new 25,000-seat, purpose-built cricket stadium at Dubai Sports City in the Middle East.
The US$100m (£68.3m, 77.3m euro) venue, which has taken three years to develop, was designed by architects Gerkan, Marg and Partner (GMP), the firm behind Berlin's Olympic Stadium and the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt. Facilities at the new stadium include indoor and outdoor pitchside seating for spectators, physiotherapy and massage rooms and dining areas, as well as corporate hospitality suites, a media centre and a playing surface designed to replicate conditions from three different continents.
Dubai Sports City chief executive, U Balasubramaniam, said: "Just three years ago, the founding partners of Dubai Sports City set out to build one of the world's best cricket stadiums, and we have realised that dream. "The stadium, together with the ICC Global Cricket Academy which is located onsite, will serve as a global centre for excellence in cricket."
The cricket stadium is the first of four new venues to be completed at the US$4bn (£2.7bn, 3.1bn euro) Dubai Sports City, a 50 million sq ft (4.6 million sq m) mixed-use development incorporating the world's first integrated, purpose-built sports city. A 60,000-seat football, athletics and rugby stadium, a 5,000-seat field hockey stadium and a 10,000-seat indoor arena also planned for the site, as well as sports academy facilities.
A one day international cricket match between Australia and Pakistan has marked the official opening of a new 25,000-seat, purpose-built cricket stadium at Dubai Sports City in the Middle East. The US$100m (£68.3m, 77.3m euro) venue, which has taken three years to develop, was designed by architects Gerkan, Marg and Partner (GMP), the firm behind Berlin's Olympic Stadium and the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt. Facilities at the new stadium include
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