Abu Dhabi an option for Real Madrid’s $1bn resort

13:07 04/12/2013
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  • The much-vaunted ‘Real Madrid Resort Island’ project may go ahead in the UAE after all after Real Madrid's president Florentino Perez claimed the Spanish giants are looking at an alternative site on Yas Island.

    As Sport360° reported on Friday, the original plan to build the $1billion resort in Ras Al Khaimah has "fallen through" due to a lack of funding.

    But it seems the project may not be totally dead with Perez claiming plans for a similar development are still in the pipeline, also divulging the potential location of the re-planned project.

    “We had a deal with one of the emirates, but they were planning to finance it using certain investments which turned out badly for them,” said Perez.

    “Now the promoters are keen for us to do it elsewhere, in Abu Dhabi, next to Ferrari World.” 

    The ambitious plans for the 'Real Madrid Resort Island' were first revealed in March 2012 and proposed to provide a marina, luxury hotels and villas, along with an amusement park, Real Madrid club museum and a futuristic 10,000-seat stadium.

    The 430,000-square metre development in Ras Al Khaimah was scheduled to open in January 2015 with developers hopeful that the resort would attract up to one million visitors to the UAE in its first year.

    However, problems over funding soon arose culminating in a source close to the project revealing in June that it was on hold “indefinitely” before Friday's news that it had now collapsed completely.

    One piece of good news for Madrid, however, is that long-awaited plans to renovate their iconic Bernabeu stadium appear to be back on track, with the proposed works due to cost €300-400m and generate annual revenue of €80m.

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