INSIDE STORY: Kuwait unveil grand plan for tennis

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  • The proposed new complex.

    A fenced off lot reminscient of a lunar landscape on the southern outskirts of Kuwait City does not seem a likely spot for a sporting revolution.

    But the ambitious plans announced last Monday for the state-of-the-art Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex promises to bring such a change. 

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    The substantial KWD100 million (Dh1.21bn) expansion by Tamdeen Group of the pre-existing 360 MALL will uniquely twin retail, sports, hotel and entertainment facilities in South Surra.

    The world-class venue, upon opening in 2019, will possess combined stadium seating for more than 7,600 people across two main arenas, each with the capacity to hold 4,000 and 1,600 people respectiv-ely, eight indoor courts with more than 500 seats and eight outdoor courts with 1,500 seats. 

    Internal discussions are planned for the ATP Champions Tour to arrive in four years, followed by the preeminent Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). The scheme also possesses a signficant local focus, president of the Kuwait Tennis Federation (KTF) Sheikh Ahmad Al Jaber Al Abdallah Al Sabah emphasising his desire to see the the region’s first tennis superstar emerge from the facility when speaking to Sport360°.

    “To start with, we will begin with the ATP Champions Tour,” the president of the Arab Tennis Federation and chairman of the Asian Tennis Federation said. “After that, we will start to host the ATP and WTA.

    “But we also want to focus on tennis in Asia. We want to promote the game here, by building an Asian tennis centre and a good academy at this facility.

    “We should have an aim to create an Asian player to be among the top 10 in the world ranking. It is our dream to have an Asian player or one from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council which contains Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) to be at this tournment, proving they are at the same level as worldwide players.”

    Kuwait has a long history of competing in the global team competition, first taking part in 1989. Veteran Mohammad Al Ghareeb (pictured) also brought the nation to international prominence in 2006, nearly upsetting then world No1 Roger Federer in the 2006 Dubai Tennis Championships.

    But the scale of the task to develop an Arabian Gulf player capable of gatecrashing the elite is shown by a look at the current rankings. 

    Oman’s Fatma Al Nabhani leads the way in the WTA list, at 407. Kuwait’s Abdullah Maqdes is currently the highest-ranked male, at No1046. 

    A handful of digging vehicles trudge across the site at present, sorting out the foundations ahead of construction beginning in earnest this November. 

    The KTF wants to attract top-quality coaches, trainers, nutritionists, fitness experts and sports psychologists to the first comprehensive tennis complex in the region in a bid to foster talent.

    The lease for the plot was acquired by Tamdeen Group – a vast company which currently possesses assets valued at more than $4bn – from the KTF, combining government-owned land with private-sector investment. 

    The expansion to the mall – originally opened in 2009 – is designed to increase the food and beverage, retail and leisure space to approximately 120,000 square 

    metres from the current 82,000-mark. A 30-per-cent growth in footfall to 18m is expected.

    Chairman Mohammed Jassim Al Marzouq was grilled by journalists at the press conference to unveil the project, eager to ascertain its viability. His vision centred on a unique attraction and superior retail opportunity combining to see Kuwaiti and GCC consumers head there in droves, as well as non-tennis events boosting revenues.

    He said: “To give an idea of how the project started, I was inspired by the aquarium in Dubai Mall. People became more interested in the mall because of the wow factor – I am trying to do the same.

    “We are also communicating with events companies about how to create events which will benefit tourism in Kuwait, which are non-tennis activities.

    “This is a big investment, we must utilise it to the maximum. We are trying to create a model which is unprecedented.

    “The middle class is huge in Kuwait, with more than 80 per cent of them working for the government.

    “They have high salaries and big spending power. The more opportunities you create in Kuwait, you will get greater traffic and success.”

    The Middle East has become a new hub for tennis in the last decade, with the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala World Tennis Championship and Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships annually attracting the world’s leading players.

    This growing importance was underlined by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) holding its 101st Annual General Meeting in Dubai last year.

    Warm weather and a combined prize fund of more than $6m already offer a significant attraction, one which Kuwait’s scheme is set to significantly boost.

    The ATP and WTA schedules are tightly packed, meaning space for new events is at a premium. But as the only venue with top-class indoor courts in the region, Kuwait could host in the red-hot summer months – something, Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha cannot offer.

    ATF president and International Tennis Federation (ITF) vice-president Anil Khanna was in attendance at the launch.

    Tennis legends Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal recently competed in an exhibition match in Bangkok.

    The Indian administrator narrowly lost last month’s ITF presidential election by eight votes to David Haggerty standing on a platform which rallied against the pre-eminence of the ATP, which he believes favours the top-100 players who are mostly from Europe.

    He was convinced the Sheikh Jaber complex will help reinvent the sport.

    He said: “Tennis will develop with this kind of facility. I am very excited about the possibility of holding a big tournament here. 

    “We want something very big to happen here. To get good players to come will not be difficult, you pay good money and they come – Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic just played in Bangkok.

    “Tennis cannot be solely based on the ATP Tour. It has to be reinvented.

    “Dubai is a very successful event, it has a lot of tourists buying tickets. The Asian Tennis Federation will reinvent tennis for Asia.”

    The oil and gas sector sectors account for about 60 per cent of Kuwait’s gross domestic product and about 95 per cent of export revenues, according to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

    Continuous saving of at least 10 per cent of government revenue in the Fund for Future Generations has been made as part of the Kuwait Investment Authority, which was founded in 1953.

    Despite this, the fall in the price of a barrel of oil to $48.10 as of October 9 from the stable $110 value held from 2010-mid-2014 has left the country exposed. 

    For Al Marzouq, such schemes are vital to his nation’s future economic prosperity.

    He said: “The decline in oil prices over the last year has underscored the need for economic diversification in Kuwait more than ever. The 2035 vision aims to transform the country into a world-class financial and commercial hub.

    “This sums up Kuwait’s ambition of achieving a balanced economy. At Tamdeen Group, we share this vision.”

    Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex fact file

    1.21 billion dollars, cost of 360 MALL expansion project
    04 years until Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex is completed
    18 tennis courts at Sheikh Jaber complex, with a mix of indoor and outdoor
    27 years Kuwait have been competing in the Davis Cup
    336 Kuwaiti Al Ghareeb’s highest-ever ATP ranking
    1,046 highest ranking for current Kuwaiti player, attained by Abdullah Maqdes
    7,600 seating capacity across the tennis complex
    38,000 square metres, the projected increase in retail space at 360 MALL

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