Meraas Holding will build the Dubai Arena, a 20,000-seat indoor events stadium, to be completed at City Walk in the heart of the Gulf emirate by 2018.
The multipurpose arena will cover an area of around 46,000 square metres (500,000 sq ft) and will accommodate large international concerts, sporting events, touring productions and other entertainment events within a fully air-conditioned venue.
The arena will also have automatically changeable seating to allow adjustability for different events.
Abdullah Al Habbai, Meraas group chairman, said: “The new destination will enrich Dubai’s existing infrastructure and will add a new state-of-the-art venue that will accommodate international events and will raise Dubai’s credentials as a premium leisure and entertainment hub.
“Dubai Arena will host famous and world renowned athletes, artists and performers and attract tourists to Dubai all year round.
“It will also host large global events and performances that have not visited the region as yet, due to the lack of a suitable platform for holding similar events,” he added.
The venue will be managed by AEG Ogden, part of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns or is affiliated with other entertainment venues such as The O2 in London, the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, the Mercedes Benz Arena in Shanghai and Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
DXB Entertainment PJSC was awarded the project management contract for design and construction. The company last year delivered Dubai Parks and Resort, which is home to three major theme parks – Bollywood Parks, Motiongate, and Legoland.
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