A new favourite worth backing

Could Dubai’s new racetrack and grandstand, ready in time for the 2010 season, be just the tonic for an emirate under fire?

Forget bungee jumping, sand boarding or paintballing; you can leave fishing, sudoku and social networking out of the equation too…surely, right now, Dubai-bashing must qualify as the world’s favourite pastime.

Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Madonna together could only dream about the sort of column inches that ruminations on the emirate’s future are receiving at the moment.

Among all that doom and gloom, it’s easy to forget the magnificent feats that Dubai has actually achieved. Even in the next few months, the Burj Dubai – the world’s tallest building by quite some distance – will throw open its doors, as will the rest of the stations on the Metro’s Red Line.

Flying somewhat under the radar so far, however, has been the Meydan City project that will ensure top class horse racing heads to Dubai in 2010 and for many years to come.

“Meydan is the Arabic word for ‘meeting place’. Meydan is going to be the newest and most important integrated business and lifestyle destination for the UAE and for the world,” explains Meydan commercial director Mohammed Abdul Nasser
Al Khayat.

The enormous 18.6 million m² project consists of four separate areas.

“Horizons will be 80% residential and 20% offices,” continues Khayat. “Metropolis is to be a business hub and Gadolfin Parks will be a waterfront district.”

However, what Construction Week is actually here to see is the central feature of Meydan City, which is now reaching completion: the brand new grandstand and racetrack facilities.

“The grandstand is the longest and largest ‘landscraper’ in the world with a span of 1.6kms or the length of 22 Boeing 747 planes,” explains Khayat.

It’s also extremely impressive given that ground was only broken on the project in June 2007 and its progress was anything but smooth.

A year ago, Meydan cancelled the US $1.25 billion contract it had with a joint venture between the Malaysian contractor WCT and Arabtec, for the construction and completion of the main building works, external works and infrastructure works of the racecourse project.

Meydan claimed the contract had been cancelled as the JV “failed to abide by the time schedule for the completion”, however there were suggestions that the JV was unhappy about payment being behind construction, which was 60% complete at the time.

“In any construction project there are always differences between what you want to achieve and what is actually happening on the ground,” a WCT spokesman said.

“Changes to the design and to the work that is to be done are always happening in every project.”

Chinese State Construction Engineering Corporation and Mammut Building Systems stepped in to take over principle construction and, fortunately, any disruption has not translated into the quality of the project itself.

Meydan’s head of projects, Douglas Small reveals that between 2,600 and 5,000 construction workers were onsite at any time during the building process; meanwhile, at the height of construction, there were eighteen cranes also onsite.

Measuring almost 1.6kms across and boasting a built area of 306,580m2, the grandstand has seating for 20,000 spectators, although its total actual capacity lies closer to 60,000. Meydan officials expect to see around 300,000 race fans hit the grandstand during the 2010 season.

The grandstand consists of several sections and lying at one end of the complex and taking up a third of it is the five-star ‘The Meydan’ hotel. The rooms are all fully integrated and 95% of them overlook the course itself.

At the other extreme of the ‘landscraper’ is a marina which, through the construction of a canal network, joins up to Dubai Creek, providing boat owners with a convenient place to stop during race days.

Designed by Malaysian outfit TAK – the master planner behind the Palm Deira – which has also served as the project management firm for the first phase of Meydan City, the grandstand’s most impressive point, however, is at its centre where the seating, restaurants, bars and VIP/corporate suites are topped by a cantilevered crescent roof that runs 426m in length and spans 56m across.

“On the upper side of the roof, there are 4,840 solar panels generating a 750Kw output,” explains marketing and communications manager William Oburu. “The solar panel surface area measures 5852m2 and the underside is made from titanium. It took 9000 tonnes of steel, in total, to create.”

The crescent roof was topped off in April 2009, less than two years after ground was broken on the grandstand. Sitting snuggly under the crescent roof is the grandstand’s piece de resistance – the rooftop bubble lounge or ‘the sky bubble’ as Meydan is calling it, which was a late addition to the original design concept.

With the capacity to hold more than 4,500 people, the glass pod has 360 degree views back over Sheikh Zayed Road as well as, of course, the racecourse.

It also offers great views over Meydan’s other ingenious and, in many cases, unique features, such as the world’s largest LED screen which runs almost 110m along the track in front of the grandstand and has a screen area of 1213m2.

You can also glimpse the elaborate network of tunnels – totaling more than two kilometers in length – that guide horses, trainers and jockeys quickly around the facilities. Then there is the IMAX theatre that seats 585 viewers.

“The grandstand development has a value of around AED 4.6 billion [US $1.25bn],” claims Meydan chairman Saeed Al-Tayer. “But the net value including the Falcon Car Park, training facilities and infrastructure will be about AED 10bn [$2.7bn]. It’s a very detailed project.”

The Falcon Car Park structure holds bays for 8,622 cars and is so named because “…the design as you approach the track is of a falcon and is the most challenging architectural feat to date, especially considering the whole project was completed within 24 months,” explains TAK managing director Teo A Khing.

While Meydan may be a good news story at a time when Dubai really needs one, the Meydan chairman insists that it will be far from the last of the emirate’s successes.

“Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the Dubai government granted us the land for this landmark building and its associated projects and they have therefore been extremely helpful and supportive throughout,” continued Al-Tayer.

“The economy is difficult for the world, not only Dubai. It’s a challenge for everyone else too. We’re dealing with it and delivering the grandstand and racetracks are the first part of meeting this challenge.”

However, Al-Tayer is a little more cryptic when discussing the remaining phases and developments within Meydan City, which, to date, have no completion deadline attached.

“We’re dedicated to our investment and we’re working closely with partners but it’s also in their hands to decide. The infrastructure has been commenced, as planned.”

Around 80% of infrastructure has been completed in Horizons – where 100 of 140 plots have been sold – while Meydan claims to be “re-strategising and working closely with new partners” on the second phase of Metropolis, while the sub-station is on schedule to be completed in 2010.

Khayat agrees. “We’ve focused on the infrastructure, which is very important because it gives investors an indication when they can start on their own land. We cannot define when construction goes on, it depends on the investor.

Some want to start because they have already invested in the land and there are some who are not looking to start just yet. It’s a phased development like Dubai Marina, which took almost 10 years to be fully ready.”

Another issue that has accounted for some of those news pages that Dubai has dominated over the past few weeks is that of non-payment with Chinese firms. Far-eastern firms played significant roles in the completion of Meydan grandstand and Al-Tayer claims that those relationships remain strong.

“The Chinese contribution to this project was immense – from the curtain wall, to work on the Falcon car park to the principle construction carried out by China State Construction. Chinese companies provided between 45% and 50% of construction supplies for the grandstand and racecourse.

“However, many of the other suppliers and JVs are based locally and 20 to 30% of components, fixtures, fittings, interiors and carpets came from national companies.”

The message is clear: the developers and all involved with Meydan City are determined to provide not only a top class racing venue but, in fact, a top class development.

“You’ve seen what has been accomplished in 18 months,” finishes Al-Tayer. “We’re now going to hold a racing season with the kind of facilities that we’ve never had in 14 years of racing.”

Building the tracks
Meydan will boast two new racetracks, a 2400m turf track and a 1750m all-weather track – replacing the previous dirt track – as well as high quality turf and all-weather training tracks.

The turf track consists of Bermuda grass (over-sown with rye) on top of two layers of sweet soil root zone, a red sand tapered drainage layer and a bed on natural subgrade soil.

The all-weather track is based on a dedicated system called Tapeta. “The Tapeta surface has proven to be a safe and reliable, and has shown outstanding durability in this climate, says Dubai Racing Club’s Frank Gabriel Jr.

“It provides drainage and great cushioning for horses, aiding their longevity. The top layer is made from a mix of fibre, rubber, sand and wax.”

Turf:
• Left handed
• 2400m oval
• Chutes of 1200m and 2000m
• 30m wide
• 5% banking on turns
• 1.5% banking on straights
• Final turn to finish 450m

All weather:
• Left handed
• 1750m oval
• Chutes of 1500m and 1600m
• 25m wide
• 6% banking on turns
• 1% banking on straight
• Final turn to finish line 400m

The 2010 Dubai racing season
“There will be nine race nights, including three double-headers,” explains Dubai Racing Club CEO Frank Gabriel Jr. “Thanks to the new racetracks, both the Dubai World Cup and the Sheema Classic can start and finish in front of the grandstand, creating incredible anticipation and energy.”

Jan 28 – Dubai International Racing Carnival (First meet)
Feb 4 & 5 - Dubai International Racing Carnival
Feb 11 - Dubai International Racing Carnival
Feb 18 & 19 - Dubai International Racing Carnival
Feb 25 - Dubai International Racing Carnival
March 4 & 5 - Dubai International Racing Carnival (Super Thursday and Meydan Masters)
March 27 – Dubai World Cup and official launch of Meydan grandstand and racecourse