Dubai Sports City Is Increasing Sports Facilities

Dubai is becoming more sports engaged and also provides for the convenient accommodation which is gaining a fast growing interest. Esmeralda, the fourth village of the Victory Heights development in Dubai Sports City is close to achieving a 100 per cent handover of residences, it has been announced. Esmeralda village, the fourth of five villages that make up phase one of the Victory Heights, consists of 198 luxury apartments and villas - 152 of these luxury apartments and villas are now already occupied by homeowners. The community therefore joins the villages of Oliva, Estella and Carmen in reaching full handover. The final village, called Novelia, is set to be completed by the end of 2010.

Mr Yasser Abdulrahman Al Raee, the general manager at the Victory Heights, said: "The villas in Esmeralda have proved incredibly popular with buyers due to their high quality and spaciousness which is a trade-mark of all Victory Heights' properties."

The Esmeralda village runs along the edges of the Els Club golf course, which was designed by the world champion golfer Ernie Els and has already attracted intense interest from many wishing to take advantage of the recent resurgence of the Dubai property market.

Dubai Sports City is also due to open five sporting academies which offer world-class coaching to children of all ages in football, hockey, rugby, swimming and cricket by the end of the year. Dubai Sports Complex, which is a multi-purpose stadium situated off Dubai Bypass Road, has been officially opened by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai.
The stadium, which was developed by the General Projects Department of the Municipality, covers a good 61 acres of land and features an aquatic centre as its core element.
It is described as a "two-tier golden teardrop-shaped facility", the aquatic centre is due to host the 10th FINA World Swimming Championships from December 15th-19th, which is being held for the first time in an Arab country. This promises to be a very exciting event for the United Arab Emirates. The aquatic centre incorporates an Olympic standard 50-metre pool as well as another 50-metre pool with a moveable floor. This stadium is a state-of-the-art project which will provide excellent sporting and swimming facilities.

"With a seating capacity of 15,000, the facility will herald a golden era in aquatic events in the region once it successfully hosts the FINA championships in which 130 countries are expected to participate," commented the Dubai Municipality.