Dubai Sports City to house 20,000 people within a year

This year, the facility expects to attract 5,000 residents into existing projects, and once complete in the next seven years, it expects to have 70,000 people.

Above, Victory Heights at Dubai Sports City. Courtesy Dubai Sports City

Dubai Sports City expects to house 20,000 people within a year, as the mixed-use complex expects to attract new tenants.

The city is part of the ambitious Dubailand project. Dubailand was announced in 2003, but many of its projects fell by the wayside in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008.

Now many of them are being built.

Dubai Sports City, a 50-million square foot community off Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, is home to 15,000 people across 6,000 apartments and 1,000 villas.

About 70 per cent of the villas and 60 per cent of the apartments are occupied.

In February, the Dubai developer GGICO launched apartments targeting middle-income families with prices starting at Dh799,846. The offering is sold out.

Dubai Sports City expects to attract 5,000 residents to its existing projects this year, and it expects to have 70,000 people when it is fully completed in the next seven years.

It would also have 200,000 square feet of retail space, including shops in the housing developments.

Nearly 45,000 sq ft of shops and restaurants at Canal Residence Phase 1 will open at the end of this month. The remaining retail space would be available for lease in the first quarter of next year, said a spokesman.

“With the population in areas such as Mirdif, the Palm, Sports City, Jumeirah Village Triangle and Circle increasing in line with new residential development, there is a need to provide more local or convenience retailing to service their day-to-day requirements,” said Craig Plumb, the regional head of research at the property consultancy JLL.

Dubai Sports City has houses and retail outlets across its Victory Heights villa complex, which borders The Els Club’s 18-hole golf course, Canal Residence West, Canal Promenade Retail and Sports Village.

The master developer Dubai Properties Group, which is part of Dubai Holdings, expects to build more schools for 5,000 students.

It houses the Bradenton Preparatory Academy, managed by Gems Education, and Victory Heights Primary School.

The Sports Village features Football Zone, International Cricket Council Academy, rugby and football pitches, outdoor courts, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and food and beverage outlets.

The Pakistan-England cricket test series will be held at the Dubai International Stadium in October.

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