News - 2008

New venue heralds new era in Middle East rugby

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Dubai, November 13, 2008 – With two weeks to go to the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, organisers are putting the finishing touches to the new home of rugby in the Middle East, 'The Sevens'.

Emirates' new purpose-built venue is now close to completion in time to welcome around 130,000 visitors from November 27-29, 2008.

"Things are looking great and we are relishing the prospect of showing off this spectacular new venue when the action kicks off on November 27," said Gary Chapman, President Group Services and Dnata, Emirates Group.

The Sevens will be able to hold around 50,000 people including spectators, players and officials for what promises to be a phenomenal sporting weekend.

"One of our overriding priorities when constructing The Sevens was to preserve the special character that has made the Dubai Sevens such a success over the years. And a lot of that was based on the fact that people could easily move around the venue to watch matches on the other pitches and meet up with their friends.

"We are very pleased that we have been able to retain that element and are certain that it, along with the increased numbers and size, will contribute to the most exciting Sevens we have seen in Dubai," added Chapman.

The main pitch at The Sevens features a permanent grandstand with 4,000 seats, augmented by temporary stands lifting the number of tickets to 42,500 which enables over 10,000 more fans than in previous years to enjoy the thrills and spills that make the Sevens one of the most eagerly awaited events on the Dubai sporting calendar.

The second pitch, in a bowl and enclosed on three sides by grass embankments, can accommodate 15,000 spectators while four further sports pitches are located close to the two-storey 80-metre long clubhouse that will eventually become home to the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union, which is the regional governing body for rugby.

Other important features of the complex, built and operated by Emirates Airline, include broadcast and medical facilities, hospitality areas, a 30-metre wide promenade featuring food outlets and cafes, and parking for some 15,000 vehicles.

There will be over 170 buses providing free transport from the venue back into five convenient locations around the city. From 5pm each day, these buses will transport fans from The Sevens to: Festival City, Media City (Family drop off point), Barasti, Al Marooj Rotana's Double Decker, The Irish Village.

More facts and figures:

  • There are six sports pitches at The Sevens
  • There are 15,000 car parking spaces available
  • The complete area of the site is 3,698,914.86m²
  • 6,972,100 hours is the estimated amount of time worked in constructing the new venue
  • The amount of sand used was 1,900,000m³ and road base was 204,412m³
  • The water comes from a combination of three sources: DEWA, Dubai Municipality and ground wells dug specifically for the venue
  • The players club was the first structure to be built
  • The overall timeline for construction will be 423 days
  • The amount of concrete, bricks and cement used was: Concrete – 5046m³; Bricks – 135,000; Cement – 220 MT
  • The total square metres of grass at The Sevens is 64,000m²
  • The Sevens will eventually cater for most sports played in the region, including rugby, cricket, football, basketball, netball, hurling, gaelic football & rugby league