Khalifa Bin Zayed National Stadium

[Adam2707]

Abu Dhabi stadium to solve live events conundrum


Construction companies have until May to bid for work on the new Khalifa National Stadium in Abu Dhabi as the project begins to gather momentum.

The tender notice for the 65,000 seat stadium states that it must include a retractable roof, which would make it the largest indoor venue in the Middle East, enabling large-scale live events to take place in the region all year-round. The estimated completion date is the first quarter of 2013.

The region’s live events industry has cited the lack of a large-scale indoor arena as a significantly limiting factor for several years.

“If the events industry had access to substantial indoor venues it would expand the season by three months,” said Thomas Ovesen, managing director, AEG Live Middle East.

“Spending two weeks establishing a 15,000 capacity venue in a temporary location simply isn’t feasible in the long-term.”

The opening of the Dubai Palladium in 2009 alleviated the problem for mid-sized events for audiences of up to 5500, however it can not accommodate the largest gigs in the region.

The Khalifa National Stadium will host a number of sporting events and will become the new home of the UAE national football team.

The arena will be built in Abu Dhabi’s new Capital City District, which will also house the UAE’s federal government buildings and foreign embassies.

The design consultant for the project is Arup Sports, the firm behind Beijing’s “bird’s nest” Olympic stadium and the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.

http://www.digitalproductionme.com/a...nts-conundrum/

[must7]

Site visit of the project main works happened in the first week of March 2010 ...

[Parisian Girl]

Contractors to bid for stadium project by May 24

by Elizabeth Broomhall on May 5, 2010

Companies hoping to be awarded the main construction contract for the planned 65,000-seat ‘Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium’ in Abu Dhabi have until 24 May to submit their bids.

The ITB for the main construction contract for the US $1 billion (AED 3.67 billion) football stadium was re-issued earlier this year, reportedly due to challenging financial circumstances in the region and a fall in the cost of construction.

The international groups who prequalified for the tender, including the Arabian Construction Company, Samsung Corporation, Ed Zublin, Taisei Corporation, China State Construction Engineering Corp and Consolidated Contractors Company, now face fierce competition in winning the main contract.

Part of the Capital City District development in Abu Dhabi next to Khalifa City, the giant stadium project being developed by Mubadala is set to be the largest sports stadium in the UAE and home to the national soccer team.

Talking about the project, Mubadala executive director John Thomas told Gulf News: "We're doing that project as development manager on behalf of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. They have a strategy for that part of the capital district — they're calling it a sports hub — and the stadium is a key element of that strategy."

Unfortunately, no one from Mubadala was immediately available to discuss reasons why the main contract was re-tendered.

As well as being designed to host major football games, other sports and athletics tournaments, the stadium is expected to attract more visitors to Abu Dhabi and surrounding emirates.

The main features will be its retractable roof, an air conditioning system for the hottest summer months, a VIP lounge, a cafeteria and a 1,500-capacity car park.

The piling and foundation works have already been completed by German contractor Ed Zublin, who was originally expected to start the main construction works in Q2 of 2009 before the tender was re-issued.

With 2011 as the scheduled completion date for the stadium, contactors are expecting the main construction contract to be awarded in the second half of this year. >> Source

[must7]

Bidding done ... now evaluation is going on.

[Qatar Son 333]

Abudhabi should have a 80K Stadium. not just a 65K

[bilzomaniac]

Originally Posted by Qatar Son 333

Abudhabi should have a 80K Stadium. not just a 65K

and keep it empty for 10 month in an year??

Qatar might be proposing to build big but what happens after the 2022 world cup(provided they win the rights to host it)?? empty/half filled stadias!!!

[Sanchez12]

What happen with this stadium project

[uklad1979]

Originally Posted by Sanchez12

What happen with this stadium project

Quietly canceled like many Abu Dhabi dream projects.

[neilroberts01]

No way this will be for 2013. I am not aware of any progress on this project.

[uklad1979]

Originally Posted by neilroberts01

No way this will be for 2013. I am not aware of any progress on this project.

It has been canceled. Many projects are canceled quietly here as no one wants to say they have canceled something after announcing it fanfare as everything is about saving face.