Long-established Abu Dhabi leisure and beach club faces 'unknown' future

The Club, which opened in 1962, says it has arrived at one of the most 'important moments' in its history

The Club Abu Dhabi. Photo: The Club

The Club, a decades-old leisure centre on coastal land near Abu Dhabi’s Mina Zayed, said this week it was in a “precarious position” and facing a series of “unknowns”, in a memo and information pack sent to its members.

The organisation, which was established in 1962, had advised its members last year that it had been served a relocation notice by city authorities. The notice requires The Club to leave its present site, which it was given in the late 1960s, before the end of 2026.

It has been allocated an undeveloped and smaller plot in a section of the Raha Beach area of the city as an alternative.

CommentAbu Dhabi club ponders next move after confirming it will leave its current plot

Read More

The uncertainties The Club refers to in its communication appear to relate to timelines, future funding and the broader structure of the move.

The new plot will be granted to The Club on a “usufruct” basis, meaning it has “access and right to use the plot but no ownership … and would entail payment of a rental amount” after construction work is completed, the organisation said in documents circulated to its members on Thursday evening, and seen by The National.

It said that it has so far been unable to secure “short, medium or long-term assurances on how long we may use the [new] site for”.

The Club added that because of several “unknowns” regarding the terms of the new site, it was proving hard or “near impossible” to seek the investment it needed to move forwards with certainty.

The document went on to explain that to rebuild the facility on a like-for-like basis at the new site could cost up to Dh350 million and take more than two and a half years to complete. In addition, it said it had already spent Dh350,000 on consultancy fees regarding the proposed relocation.

The Club currently only has rights to stay at its present location until the end of the third quarter next year, although The National understands a temporary extension to remain in situ could be requested.

The leisure complex is recognised as one of the top 100 city clubs in the world and its nearly 3,500 current members hail from more than 80 countries, despite it often being colloquially referred to as the “British Club”. Annual memberships cost about Dh5,000 for an adult and the organisation employs more than 250 staff.

The Club says its members consider the premises as a “second home” in the city and reckons to have welcomed more than 50,000 Abu Dhabi residents into its membership since it began operations in the early 1960s.

The organisation will convene an extraordinary general meeting for members next week before the National Day holiday weekend, describing it as "one of the most important moments in The Club's 63-year history".

The Club declined to comment when contacted by The National.