larrygator Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 A unique idea themed around the popular Real Madrid Futbol Club. Initials plans call for a 2015 opening. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h3y1oiGdFHOYsaiyyjqhLbsJmA1w?docId=CNG.d928c7bced570cd3f05f6ab6dc9e907f.41 Emirate plans Real Madrid theme park (AFP) – 9 hours ago MADRID — Real Madrid football club will spread its brand to the Middle East and Asia by lending its name to a $1 billion theme park on a man-made island in the United Arab Emirates, it said on Thursday. Executives unveiled plans for the "Real Madrid Resort Island", featuring an oceanside stadium and hi-tech club museum in the northern Emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah, on the doorstep of the lucrative football-mad Asian market. "Real Madrid Resort Island will be a major tourist and sporting centre of great dimensions and the highest level," club president Florentino Perez told a news conference. "This extraordinary complex will attract millions of people looking for quality leisure services," he added at the event, also attended by Real players including captain Iker Casillas and striker Karim Benzema. "This is a decisive and strategic step which contributes to strengthening our institution in the Middle East and Asia," Perez said. "Real Madrid will be present permanently in a key region of the world." The complex, with $1 billion (758 million euros) of investment and backed by the government of the Emirate, is scheduled to open in January 2015, the club and executives said. It will include a five-star hotel, beachside bungalows and an amusement park with a rollercoaster and hologram show recreating Real Madrid's goals. Sports facilities will include training pitches and swimming pools plus a marina for yachting, as well as the 10,000-seat football stadium open on one side to a view of the sea. Benzema and fellow French football ace and Real hero Zinedine Zidane posed holding white team shirts bearing the logo of the resort, along with coach Jose Mourinho, goalkeeper Casillas and defender Sergio Ramos. Executives of the investment group behind the project, the RAK Marjan Island Football Investment Fund, said its location, 45 minutes from Dubai airport, put it in reach of 2.0 million visitors. "The Emirates and Ras Al Khaimah is really the gateway to the Middle East and to Asia and that's really our target here today," said Louis Armand de Rouge, a French executive on the project. Rouge said that more than half of Real Madrid's 300 million fans were in Asia. "Football is the most popular sport in the world (and) Asia is also the world's fastest growing sports market," he said. Real Madrid ranked top this year in the Money League of richest football clubs published by consultancy Deloitte, with revenues of 480 million euros in the 2010-2011 season. They currently sit six points ahead of fierce rivals Barcelona at the top of the Spanish league Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 First Ferrari, now this. Interesting anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroG001 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Being a passionate Real Madrid fan AND a fan of theme parks, this is like a dream come true! I'm interested in a lot of what they're planning. The hologram show sounds really cool, and I'm interested to see how that will look when it is actually built. The video didn't show much. I'm also interested to see what that sea-side stadium will be used for, considering that European football season starts in mid-August and ends in mid-May, so I don't know when the team will be there to play in it for fans. And the article says that the theme park will have one roller coaster, and the video shows B&M track when it shows the one roller coaster. If that is the case, I am even more excited. This is insane! I know where I will be come January 2015! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoCo Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Seems like an odd "theme" for an entire resort complex, but if Hello Kitty gets its own parks, why not Real Madrid? Plus, I'm a dumbass American who doesn't know squat about the world's most popular sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Seams like the economy must be picking up. This is another park recently announced to be built over there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroG001 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 One thing that the club really takes pride in is their rich history. Real Madrid has won more Spanish and European championship titles than any other team in Europe, and FIFA voted them the best club of the 20th century. Being one of the richest sports franchises in the world, they also take pride in the fact that they represent class and royalty. They are the Spanish royal family's favorite team, too. It looks like everything about this resort will definitely represent their luxurious and decorated history well. Now we just need their eternal rivals, FC Barcelona, to build their own resort right next door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
australianalex Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Seams like the economy must be picking up. This is another park recently announced to be built over there. Lol UAE will always propose huge developments no matter how bad the economy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Seems like an odd "theme" for an entire resort complex, but if Hello Kitty gets its own parks, why not Real Madrid? Plus, I'm a dumbass American who doesn't know squat about the world's most popular sport. I completely agree with everything in this post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDG Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 10th time's a charm ? Paramount Park: opening in 2009 --> cancelled F1 X: opening in 2009 --> cancelled Universal Studios: opening in 2010 --> cancelled Dreamworks Studios: opening in 2010 --> cancelled Legoland: opening in 2011 --> cancelled Marvel Super Heroes Park: opening in 2011 --> cancelled SeaWorld: opening in 2012 --> cancelled Six Flags: opening in 2013 --> cancelled Busch Gardens: opening in 2015 --> cancelled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriolat Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 One thing that the club really takes pride in is their rich history. Real Madrid has won more Spanish and European championship titles than any other team in Europe, and FIFA voted them the best club of the 20th century. Being one of the richest sports franchises in the world, they also take pride in the fact that they represent class and royalty. They are the Spanish royal family's favorite team, too. It looks like everything about this resort will definitely represent their luxurious and decorated history well. Now we just need their eternal rivals, FC Barcelona, to build their own resort right next door. Check your history book. Real Madrid won SO many Spanish leagues because it was Franco's favourite football team (that meant partial referees, suspicious draws, etc.). I really think this project won't go ahead, just like so many other far-fetched projects in Dubai... Oriol "Don't want to turn this into a football thread" Monroig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 ^^ To be fair, though, a lot of those parks were either part of one major complex, or similar complexes where the entire bigger picture project got scrapped. I've actually been hearing rumblings about one or more of these projects possibly getting life back now that things seem to be picking up in the UAE. Will certainly be interesting to see how things look when we are there next week. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
australianalex Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Well I'd perfer to see Dubailand built first. When I moved to Dubai in 2006 we saw ads for Dubailand saying it'd be built by 2010. Its 2012 and no work has been done, so Id prefer they finish that off before starting a new project. Also wasn't there some Busch Gardens and Seaworld project for the Palm Jebal Ali? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubaidave Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 ^^ To be fair, though, a lot of those parks were either part of one major complex, or similar complexes where the entire bigger picture project got scrapped. I've actually been hearing rumblings about one or more of these projects possibly getting life back now that things seem to be picking up in the UAE. Will certainly be interesting to see how things look when we are there next week. --Robb OMG its next week!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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