Dubai's $5b sports oasis - aim to be world venue. The Sheikh dreams turning the country into a cross between Singapore, Miami Beach and Las Vegas. Building the biggest and best of everything has included making the place a world sport venue.
In late January, the world's richest marathon 2008, was run along Dubai's Gulf shore. Coming this month, March 2008, is the world's richest horse race.
Next year, the world's richest golf tournament will debut, a bookend to the anual Dubai Desert Classic that Tiger Woods won last month. Woods has been a regular in Dubai. He is building the world's first Tiger Woods golf course, in Dubailand. Dubai offers other lures beyond the fact that there no taxes here.
Dubai, which is also home to tennis star Roger Federer now, has white-sand beaches, six new golf courses, a track for Grand Prix races and an indoor ski mountain attached to a shopping mall.
The Sport City covers about 4.6 million square metres, are a 25,000-seat, state-of-art cricket stadium; a 60,000-seat stadium for soccer and rugby; an indoor arena for ice hockey and concerts; a hockey venue; a tennis academy; and a Manchester United soccer school.
Some may be wondering how does Khalid al-Zarooni get such distinguished athletes to take part in Dubai Sports City. The president of DSC replies in perfect American-accented English : "You put the sugar and the ants will come."
