Meydan is second most important global sports venue

Meydan is second most important global sports venue

Leading international magazine names facility second after consulting with industry experts from various fields.

June 8, 2010 3:49 by Samuel Potter

Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse facility has been voted the second most important sports venue globally by internationally recognized sports title; SportsPro magazine.

Meydan rated highly in terms of innovation, originality, infrastructure, potential commercial prowess and the sheer magnitude of the integrated facility, according to a press release.

The June edition of SportsPro magazine featured the results of the ranking, which included venues from 13 different countries. A list of venues was compiled by the editorial team, then industry experts – including architects, designers, stadium managers and sponsorship experts – were consulted to form the final order.

Around 100 global sporting venues were analysed and pared down to the final top 30. A broad spectrum across various sports and geographical locations were considered with UAE’s Yas Marina Circuit and Dubai Sports City also being nominated and placed at 8th and 11th positions in the poll respectively. The list ranked venues in order of importance, be it architectural, political, sporting, social, historical, or environmental.

David Cushnan, Editor of SportsPro, said: “Meydan has set new standards and its placing properly reflects that. It is not only a monument to Sheikh Mohammed’s vision for Dubai, but a new benchmark for the entire international racing industry. Every other future racing venue will be judged against features like Meydan’s Grandstand, the hotel and the new training facilities. It is also a perfect marriage of tradition and technology and the centrepiece of a city built from scratch, completely unique in that it could only happen in Dubai. There should be absolutely no surprise that it ranked so highly in our list.”

The World Games Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, was voted as the most important venue. Third was Cowboys Stadium, Dallas, fourth was Wembley in London, fifth was Soccer City in Johannesburg.