Report
LSS 3003 – Sports, Leisure, and Society
LSS 3003 – Sports, Leisure, and Society
Zayed Sports City
Supervised by: Hedley Butterfield
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Name
|
ID
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Abdulla Faisal
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H00204934
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Abdulaziz Mundhir
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H00209831
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Mohamed Abdulla Saif
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H00214394
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Feras Mohamed Alahmed
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H00154893
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One of the visions of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan was building a full sport city that would increase the interest of UAE people in sports. Zayed Sports City was built at the beginning of 1980, specifically in January 1980. For its first appearance Zayed Sports City was considered as an art facility and the interest in sport was not a priority, but with time the interest of UAE society in sports increased and several developments made it the first sports and entertainment destination.
Developments:
Several developments were established in order to improve this
iconic landmark. These developments were varying in their objectives. Some of
these developments were related to improve Zayed stadium while others were
about adding new facilities. As example: of these facilities: ice rink, bowling
center, tennis stadium and external football/rugby pitches.
Facilities and what they include:
Football stadium:
The stadium was the first facility built in this landmark. The
stadium facility consists of the management department under the stadium and
this department includes the finance, IT, marketing and repairs facility. The
field is very famous because of the playground field. The grass covering the
playground is one of the best grass types and this was rated by the FIFA which
is the International Federation of Association Football. The stadium hosted the
FIFA Club World Cup in 2010. This is considered as one of the biggest football
events.Premier: in this category the seats are the closest to the tennis court and the ticket for this category is the most expensive among the three categories.
Category “1”: this category is located between the two other
categories and the cost of this category differs from adults to children.
Category “2”: this category is considered as the cheapest among the
three categories because of the seats location which are the farthest from the
court. The pricing also varies from adults to children.
With the establishment of
the international tennis center, several facilities have been established
alongside the center such as; nine tennis courts, four beach tennis and volleyball
courts, two paddle tennis, three basketball courts, fitness gym and fitness
studios
The international tennis center has hosted many events such as:
Mubadala World Tennis Championship – WWE RAW World Tour – Harlem Globetrotters
– Abu Dhabi Fighting Championship – Jiu Jitsu World Championship – Inter-Gulf
Netball Championship.
The Ice Rink:
The ice rink at Zayed Sports City is the only Olympic size skating
surface in the UAE. This Olympic arena has features such as an ice area of 1860
meter square and the ice surface is 30.9m x 60.3m. The arena holds a seating
capacity of 1280. Seats are divided into three categories which are; 1100
general audience, 160 VIP seats and 20 royal box seats.
Throughout the years, the
ice rink arena hosted several events and matches such as ice hockey matches and
figure skating shows. The facilities of the ice rink include a pro shop, a
dance studio, private event space, and also include one of the best pizza
restaurants in the world, Figaro’s pizza.
Bowling Centre:
The bowling center is the best bowling center available in the UAE.
It is composed of 40 lanes with an automatic scoring system. The lanes are
equipped with bowling ramps that are used for children when they play. The
ramps are positioned at both edges of the lane insuring that the ball gets to
the end of the lane. The ramps are raised automatically by the reception staff.
Scoring monitors are provided above each lane. The center provides 938 seats
for spectators and these seats are divided into 3 sections; general (616 seats),
gallery seats (312) and 10 seats in the media box section. The center provides
the service of three restaurants. Furthermore the center has a conference room
which is used by the staff for development ideas and problem solving and last
but not least the center has a billiard room which has 13 professional billiard
tables.
The bowling center hosted many bowling championships. Actually the
purpose of building the bowling center was to host the 14th FIQ World Bowling
Championships. Also the center hosted the world bowling championship in 1999
and the world championship of 2014 and 2015. Many local tournaments also take
place in the bowling center such as Ramadan bowling tournament.
Special events and
activities:
There are basically three activities in Zayed Sport City which are
held for staff of different companies and some activities are special for the
faculty and their families.
1-
Family
fun day: this event is held for the employees at Zayed Sports City and their
families. In this type of event, they organize an agenda with challenging
sports activities. The challenges include children and adults of all ages. The
point of this event is that Zayed Sports City employees and employers represent
a big happy family and this event is to show how grateful and thankful Zayed
Sports City is to their faculty.
2-
Team
Building Events: sports are an important factor at Zayed Sports City and it is
an example of teamwork and outstanding skills in leadership. This event is
special for companies that are hosted by Zayed Sports City. They arrange games
and matches between the staff of different companies and the point of this
event is to get the best benefits out of companies and to gain credibility
between employees and also to build stronger relationships.
3-
Corporate
Health Programs: Zayed Sports City arranges a health program for companies’
staff. The program consists of a health assessment for employees and gives them
a fitness program and also nutrition advice and this program is designed for
them to approach their goals in fitness.
4-
One
of the greatest events that were presented at Zayed Sports City was the 40th
National Day celebration in 2011. This was a huge event because it is arranged
every decade at Zayed Sports City. The arrangement and expenses for the
celebration almost cost the same as hosting the Olympics.
Interview with
the manager:
The interview we made in Zayed Sports City was not with the manager
of Zayed Sports City who is Bari Brenner because he wasn’t available to make
the interview. Therefore the administration gave us the chance to get
information by making the interview with the director of business and corporate
services manager Mrs. Rebecca Fahmy. Mrs. Rebecca was the finance manager for 4
years. She came to UAE by an offer from Zayed Sports City. The interview was on
13th November 2013. It was held in a meeting room inside the administration
department which is located under the football stadium. The duration of the
interview was nearly half an hour (29 min). The interview was recorded by video
and voice recorder and the recordings are attached. According to Mrs. Rebecca,
they didn’t face any major problems in Zayed Sports City. She also indicated
that events are prepared to the highest standards. Therefore, no failures have
occurred. As for the facilities, they are always checked for maintenance to ensure
that it is always ready to operate. She indicated that Zayed Sports City hosted
some world events such as the Monster Jam this year. Also she told us about
Manchester City Football School At the end of the interview we took some photos
of Rebecca with us and we took more photos of the facilities available in Zayed
Sports City.
References:
1.
Ahlan wa Sahlan. (n.d.). Zayed
Sports City. Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://www.zsc.ae/en/
2.
Mubadala World Tennis
Championship. (n.d.). Ticket Master. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from https://www.ticketmaster.ae/event/mubadala-world-tennis-championship-tickets/1087
3.
Zayed
Sports City Brochures
4.
Director
of Business & Corporate Services Mrs. Rebecca Fahmy
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