Dubai's new air conditioned sports arena for 17,000 spectators looks set to open next year

The City Walk venue is coming together ahead of the 2019 launch date, its developer Meraas says

How Dubai Arena will look when finished. Courtesy Dubai Media Office / Meraas

The new Dubai Arena looks set for a 2019 opening when it will be ready to welcome 17,000 spectators at a time to watch live concerts and events.

The facade of the venue in the City Walk district is close to completion and work is pressing ahead on a timeline to open next year, developer Meraas said on Sunday.

Abdulla Al Habbai, Group Chairman at Meraas, said: “Every city is known for something - but few, if any, can compare to Dubai when it comes to leisure and entertainment experiences. Dubai Arena has been designed to enhance the city’s reputation as a destination for world-class events and hospitality and will transform the industry throughout the Middle East.

“We are confident that Dubai Arena will position the city on the international entertainment touring circuit and the audiences will have the opportunity to witness the world’s most talented performers and sporting events in the heart of Dubai."

The venue will be able to accommodate events and genres all year-round including sporting events such as tennis, basketball, boxing, volleyball and ice hockey, and gala dinners, exhibitions and conferences and festivals.

Meraas said the roof of Dubai Arena is expected to be completed and made watertight before the end of the year, to allow the final acoustic checks to commence. The complex roof structure weighs approximately 4,000 tonnes, equivalent in weight to that of seven A380 airplanes.

Day-to-day operations of Dubai Arena are to be managed by international venue management company AEG Ogden, which is part of the Anschutz Company, whose portfolio currently includes the O2 in London and the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

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