博鱼体育娱乐平台

Dubai Aviation Club is owned and managed by Dubai Duty Free and it was opened in 1921 under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Can you tell us more about the history of the club?

Originally, the Dubai Aviation Club was not conceived to be a private members club, it was supposed to be part of the Aviation College complex, which is our close neighbor. The club and the college were built all at the same time very quickly, immediately after the first Gulf War, and it became apparent to their Highnesses that this facility was probably being created to a standard that was higher than the requirements that you would need for a college environment with students. So it was decided at that time to make the section a private members club, which is how it was developed. The college and the club are now two completely separate institutes. The club has evolved over time; it was managed originally as its own entity under the Department of Civil Aviation and then, shortly after opening, it was taken over by Dubai Duty Free or, more accurately, Dubai Duty Free were given the responsibility of managing the club. The Aviation Club name comes from the fact that it was then owned by the Department of Civil Aviation and, technically, that is still the case, although the Department of Civil Aviation has now changed its name to Dubai Airforce. That鈥檚 something that鈥檚 happening at the moment, it鈥檚 been more segmented. Effectively, for all practical purposes, we鈥檙e owned by Dubai Duty Free and it鈥檚 been very useful for us to have such a powerful parent company. Dubai Duty Free is doing over a billion dollars of turnover this year and it鈥檚 great to have that protective arm around a club such as ourselves. But we have expanded the business here; starting with what was essentially a very private members club, which was the norm at the time. It was one of the first clubs in Dubai, it preceded the Creek Golf and Yacht Club, and the Emirates Golf Club. It was the first real international standard quality club environment when it opened and we try to maintain that all the way through, though the emphasis has changed from excluding people to trying to include people as we鈥檝e progressed. So the club has moved with the times, has moved with what鈥檚 happening in Dubai and has evolved to what it is today. We鈥檝e got the Health and Leisure Club, and attached to that the spa business, which is the Akaru Spa, which we opened three years ago. Then, we鈥檝e got the food and beverage business, which includes the Irish Village. That is world famous at this stage because Newsweek magazine voted us one of the world鈥檚 great meeting places a number of years ago and it鈥檚 been very busy, and very successful. A lot of people now know us as the Irish Village, it鈥檚 supposed to be the Aviation Club but in actual fact it鈥檚 the other way round. Then, continuing with the food and beverage side, we鈥檝e got the restaurant and bar collection, which has been very successful. We then go on to the Century Village, which is another part of our food and beverage expansion with 12 food and beverage outlets. This is operated in a slightly different way; we have developed the area and concept as an evolution of the requirements for the tennis stadium. We have a tennis stadium; it was designed specifically for tennis and it鈥檚 very good for tennis, we鈥檒l come back to that later, and we started doing concerts there. As a matter of fact, the day I started work we had a Shaggy concert, which was in October 1996. My introduction to the Aviation Club and the tennis stadium and the Irish Village was the Shaggy concert in October 1996. We had this event and it became very clear that we didn鈥檛 have enough catering to service that event at that time so that鈥檚 where the idea for Century Village came from. We thought about putting in some kiosks, we then expanded that idea saying 鈥渨hy would we put in kiosks that鈥檒l only be used for the events, why don鈥檛 we make it a little bit more permanent and use it all year round?鈥� That鈥檚 where the idea of having all these restaurants and bars came from. So what you see today in Century Village is an evolution of that idea from 1996, that鈥檚 as far back as you might say it goes. Since then we鈥檝e done a lot of concerts in the tennis stadium, which is the other part of business. Also, we鈥檝e got the sports side of the tennis stadium, which is its reason for existing. It鈥檚 one of the best tennis stadiums in existence today, it is ideal for the purpose for which it was built. It seats 5000 people and we do the Dubai Tennis Championships annually, which includes the WTA, which is the women鈥檚 and men鈥檚, followed by the ATP, the men鈥檚 event. Both of them, back to back, usually take place from the last week of February to the first week of March. This event is owned by Dubai Duty Free but we are the ground operator for that. We do a lot of the logistics on the ground. It鈥檚 been very exciting to have these types of events; between the sporting events, such as the tennis, the concerts and the food and beverage business it has been an eruption of a lot of success. Each event has cast its own positive shadow over all the things that are happening, and they鈥檙e all feeding off each other so it鈥檚 been very exciting for us here.

You mentioned that now you鈥檙e trying to include all people in the membership. How does the membership work at the moment?T

The private memberships club is where you apply for the membership, its primary focus is in sports. So we鈥檝e got an exceptional gymnasium, an aerobics studio, and a cycle studio. Right now, we鈥檙e doing up to 50 classes per week. We have a staff membership, which is separate from the main membership. We鈥檝e got people whose interest in their own fitness regime is in gymnastics so they do 5 or 6 classes a week. It鈥檚 great and that鈥檚 their primary interest. Then, we have other members who are full club members who use the gymnasium, the squash courts, the tennis courts, the saunas, the steamers and Jacuzzis; they form the core of the club. When we talk about people joining here, we ask them where they live and where they work because one of the things we鈥檝e discovered over the years is that if it鈥檚 not convenient you won鈥檛 use it. We don鈥檛 want the membership for the sake of membership, we want people who want to participate in the life of the club and to create that club atmosphere, and we鈥檙e very lucky that that has evolved over the years. Right now we鈥檝e got 16 different nationalities amongst our membership, so it鈥檚 open to all nationalities. People who are members here do tend to be in executive level jobs, and they take their leisure time seriously. Normally, they bring their families here and it鈥檚 an extension of their home life. A lot of people who are members here will come here and spend the two days of the weekend here with their families, or they may come here in the week just to do work outs or something quicker. We鈥檙e open from 6.30 in the morning right through to 11 at night in the recreation department giving people the opportunity to come before work or after work. Because of the very hot weather in the middle of the day here in Dubai, we offer them the traditional system of a split day, so a lot of people start work in the morning, have a break in the afternoon then work again later in the day. We鈥檝e got a peak of people coming in the morning before normal working hours, and then it quietens down later in the morning. Maybe a lot of mums come and that type of thing to use it while the kids are at school. Then, we鈥檝e got a big busy period in the middle of the day 12-12.30, they come over here, stay with us until maybe 3 or 3.30 and they go back to their work again. So it鈥檚 part of their whole day and it works very well. Of course, the club has expanded over the years; the gymnasium we have today is not the gymnasium we had at the beginning and we have a continuous upgrade program involved. Every five years we completely refurbish the gymnasium, we completely change all of the equipment. In actual fact, we will be due for another refurbishment early next year. It鈥檚 a continuous cycle and it works quite well. It keeps the members confident that we鈥檙e taking care of them and looking out for their interests as well, and it鈥檚 keeping the club at the top level of competitiveness in the market. There are a lot of great places in Dubai, as you know, and you need to keep moving to stay up there with competition.

There are a lot of new city centers emerging with their own club, how do you compete with them?

I think there鈥檚 a key distinction between us and what is happening with the plethora of what you call commercial clubs that are opening around the city. They perform a function, and it鈥檚 a very well needed function, but they鈥檙e less clubs than functional places to do a work out. You鈥檙e not likely to be meeting and interacting with a lot of your fellow members there. They鈥檙e very large, and they鈥檙e very useful for a segment of the market that is not interested in having a more social interaction with their colleagues. However, the Aviation Club is a mixing place, it鈥檚 a meeting place, people network here all the time. You know the old story: you go on the golf course and have business done there. We find the same thing here at the Aviation club. A lot of our members who are working in executive positions tend to meet up here informally and a lot of business actually happens it that environment; it鈥檚 less pressurised than straight-forward meetings at offices. So, that is not something that is available in the more commercial clubs. We have the space for that, we have the setup for that. Many of our staff have been here since 1991, though we do bring in fresh people on a continuous basis. Some of them know all the members. I鈥檓 not much good at knowing people鈥檚 names myself; I know the faces and it鈥檚 great to recognise the same people year in, year out. But I know some of my colleagues here who can read off the names of all the members going back to 1991, although, of course, a lot of them aren鈥檛 the same members. Also, we鈥檙e not trying to be the same size as some of these commercial clubs. We have a ceiling on the number of memberships that are available and once we start reaching that ceiling, from time to time we have to say 鈥渟orry, we鈥檙e not taking any more people right now,鈥� and this goes in waves. A lot of the time in Dubai, people in executive positions come maybe for a three year contract with their companies, in particular, large, international companies and then they get moved to somewhere else. What we have been looking at is that, even when they鈥檝e left and moved on to go somewhere else, when they revisit Dubai, they revisit the Aviation Club, and it鈥檚 great to see them coming back and telling us where they are now and what they鈥檙e doing. So it really is more of an extended family feel than the more commercial clubs. But I think there鈥檚 a place for both and, as the city expands, there鈥檚 plenty of business for all: the commercial clubs as well as ourselves. A lot residential and office buildings have their own club facilities but they have a specific function. They鈥檙e a gym, or you want to get in and out very quickly. You can do that here at the Aviation Club and, as I say, a lot of the executive members tend to do that a little bit during the week, but then when it comes to the weekend their whole focus changes. They might bring their wife or girlfriend, or their boyfriends; it鈥檚 not necessarily just for men. The club is a mixed club with an international focus. Over the week it鈥檚 more for business, and as we move into the weekend it becomes more relaxed. It鈥檚 great. We see children growing up here, although we don鈥檛 have a lot of children because a lot of the schools now seem to have very full programmes so the kids are very much occupied. Usually in the weekend we see more of the kids. We鈥檝e seen kids growing up here who have left, gone to university in the States or in Europe and now they鈥檙e coming back to work in Dubai and they鈥檙e picking up their old memberships at the Aviation Club. It鈥檚 a great evolution to see how it moves forward. Of course, that means we鈥檙e effectively breeding our own future members, which is great! We don鈥檛 really need to do a hard sell in terms of what we鈥檙e trying to do. People do come and go; usually it ties in with their work cycle, if they鈥檙e being posted abroad and then we have a new group of people. Usually the people who come to replace them in those international companies will also join the club. There鈥檚 continuity in terms of the corporate membership side of things as well. So, it鈥檚 actually very good and makes people integrate easier; they don鈥檛 have to work as hard to find out where their feet are in Dubai when they arrive here. There鈥檚 a big welcome here, we already know the companies that they work for, and they spend some time with their colleagues who have probably told them about us. It鈥檚 a whole handover thing, it鈥檚 a continuous chain and it works very well. Of course, that鈥檚 the best type of business to have, it鈥檚 a repeat type business and it鈥檚 self-generating, which is very good.

You mentioned that you have a lot of executive members, so how difficult is it to get membership?

It depends on the way that things are going. We鈥檝e got a cap on our overall membership. We feel that it鈥檚 important that when you take membership at a club like this, it鈥檚 not a question of filling it up with bodies, it鈥檚 a question of making sure that we can deliver the certain standards and facilities to people when they come here. So, for example, maybe in January we might have 20 people who have been transferred abroad by their companies, therefore we can take in 20 more people. Very often they will be people who are replacing the people who鈥檝e just gone abroad from the same companies, but it鈥檚 not always the case. There鈥檚 always an opportunity, we do put people on the waiting list and we get back to them very quickly and keep them informed about what the status is. We enjoy bringing in new people and we encourage new people to apply for membership but again, if there鈥檚 no room, there鈥檚 no room. But that said, there may be no room today but there may be room in three weeks time. It may just be a question of we鈥檙e expecting people to move on and we usually know quite well in advance if people aren鈥檛 intending to renew. We basically know that Mr X is going to be moving to Thailand in three months time because that is the relationship we have with our members; they talk to us, we talk to them, we know what they鈥檙e doing and they know what we鈥檙e doing. Actually, they know more about what we鈥檙e doing than they should know a lot of the time! It鈥檚 an ongoing thing. If somebody comes to us today and asks for a membership, we鈥檙e pretty clear, it does need to go through the committee but it鈥檚 not an odorous process and we鈥檙e able to say 鈥渢here are openings right now鈥� and usually it鈥檚 pretty straightforward. Occasionally, if we鈥檝e got a full house then we鈥檒l need more time, it鈥檚 very easy to keep taking people but then you kill the goose that laid the golden egg because the members that are here will become uncomfortable and it鈥檒l become overcrowded. We have extended our facility over the years so we have been able to take in more people but we don鈥檛 see it evolving to the point where we鈥檙e opening up as one would do in a shopping mall or something like that.

Tennis is one of the core sports supported by Dubai Sports City and once it is completed in 2009 they will try to attract tennis events. Could this pose a threat to your tennis championships?

We don鈥檛 see Dubai Sports City as any threat at all. We think it will enhance the availability of sports and leisure facilities here in the city. The Dubai Tennis Stadium was built specifically for tennis and it is a spectacularly good venue for playing tennis. So much so that a lot of the players over the years have been coming here. The world鈥檚 top players have voted our tournament the best year after year after year. That has got to do with the tennis stadium itself, it鈥檚 got to do with the surroundings, it鈥檚 got to do with the club and the interaction of everything that鈥檚 happening here. That cannot be easily replicated in a new environment. Plus, the indoor venue is a multi-purpose venue as far as we understand it and it can work for tennis and I鈥檓 sure it will be used for some of the tennis events that happen, but the ATP and the WTA tournaments are owned by Dubai Duty Free and they鈥檙e property of Dubai. One of the best things about Dubai will be what we will do. Right now we don鈥檛 see a problem with the existing tennis stadium. It would be nice to have some more seating capacity and we are doing some studies on that at the moment but, as we understand it, Sports City doesn鈥檛 have a dedicated tennis environment right now. We鈥檝e got a very exciting environment, we鈥檝e got a dedicated tennis stadium, and we鈥檝e got the advantages of having other facilities on our doorstep, like the Irish Village and Century Village. It would be very difficult to replicate that somewhere else without doing something brand new. That is always a possibility of course, there is always pressure on seating, we got by without the seats, but 5000 seats is 5000 seats, it鈥檚 not any more than that. We would like, ideally, to have a larger capacity, and we are working with some of the international sports and engineering consultants at the moment to examine ways that that might be done and how we might develop that possibility on site. In the event that it doesn鈥檛 work on site, being in the city centre there is a lot of pressure on space as you would appreciate, we may have to look at other sites, but if we do that it will be following the directives and strategy of the government. But we hope that either way we will be creating not a replacement but a complimentary venue. But we don鈥檛 think of Dubai Sports City as being a threat, we think it鈥檚 going to enhance what鈥檚 on offer in Dubai. It鈥檚 the old story of the more there is, the more there is; the more interest that is generated, more and more people coming into Dubai. When we opened Century Village, people questioned why we put so many outlets in there, the reality is that people come 鈥� they don鈥檛 think about what they鈥檙e going to do there 鈥� they come, they park 鈥� there鈥檚 plenty of parking inside 鈥� and they think 鈥渙k, which way shall we go?鈥� We鈥檝e got Italian, French, steakhouses, Iranian, Indian, Portuguese, etc and what we find is that the more you have, the more it attracts. Even to the extent of, in a city like Dubai, all sorts of things are happening all over the city, 2 and 2 is making 8, it鈥檚 not making 4. It鈥檚 all adding up to eight, and we think that will happen with Sports City, and it has happened here in terms of the evolution of the development of food and beverage in different parts of the city, the hubs of interest in different parts of the city. We鈥檙e not the only venue in this area, a lot of people come to this area and it鈥檚 constantly evolving. We鈥檝e got Festival City opening on our doorstep and that is a very exciting project for this side of the city. The whole point is getting a balance so that things aren鈥檛 only on one side. But, you know, the pendulum swings and Festival City is regenerating the area, bringing a lot of activities into the area. There is also the development of the airport and we鈥檙e only five minutes from there. It makes for a very exciting and progressive environment. It鈥檚 all adding, and we don鈥檛 see it as a threat, we see it as an opportunity.

So what are the real challenges you are facing, with the expansion of your facilities?

Space is the biggest challenge. We currently are building a hotel on the site, which is eventually taking up a lot of the space. We do think we鈥檝e been a little bit clever about it in that we鈥檙e putting in a lot of car parking underneath the ground and then we鈥檙e going to put gardens and landscaping right on top. It won鈥檛 look as big as it is. So, there鈥檚 a lot of it underground and what you see over ground is effectively 300 bedrooms. The site is our restriction. We鈥檝e got very little scope, the tennis stadium is a very large building and we have 10 tennis courts in addition to that, which means that we can always sacrifice one or two things to make up for other things and we have done that all the way through. But we really feel that, once the hotel is built, the site will be at its capacity. Again, it鈥檚 in terms of good town planning and good design and architecture and our attitude to the club. We don鈥檛 want to pack people in like sardines. We want people to have a positive and quality experience with us, whether that is a dining experience or a sporting experience or an entertainment experience. We can hold up to 7500 people for concerts in the stadium. Of course, we use the floor of the stadium as well. Sting, for example, did two concerts in our stadium 鈥� sold out both nights. In an ideal world, if you鈥檙e having a Sting concert you want to do one night and have 15,000 people involved, but it鈥檚 different strokes for different folks. As the city has evolved, the need for larger facilities has grown as the population is growing. It amazes us, the number of people we have coming in from abroad specifically to see tennis for example, and that does put pressure on space. So, our big threat isn鈥檛 competition from outside, it鈥檚 our own ability to service, in terms of space, what we鈥檙e doing here. Again, I suppose in many ways we鈥檙e a victim of our own success because the stadium is full capacity most of the time for these events and there鈥檚 always somebody who can鈥檛 get a ticket. So, is it better if you have a venue of our scale that is busy all the time or a much larger venue that isn鈥檛 full? The reality is that, while Dubai is growing rapidly, we still don鈥檛 have enough real population to build huge venues on a continuous basis. There are so many things happening in town and it鈥檚 so exciting that people have been compartmentalized. So, when I came here 11 years ago, if you had a concert, no matter what the concert was, or if you had a sporting event, it didn鈥檛 matter what it was, everybody came. The town was a much smaller place, you met everybody and you knew everybody and they knew you and I think it was a bit like a village in a way. Now, it鈥檚 become more compartmentalized and people have choice so there鈥檚 a philharmonics concert happening in the theatre, there鈥檚 some other things happening sports wise, there鈥檚 cinemas all over the place. There鈥檚 lots of choice. Then you鈥檝e got sporting events on top of that. So people do tend to say 鈥淚 can鈥檛 go to everything and I need to follow my particular interests鈥� and we鈥檙e looking at a very solid tennis following. The places in the tennis stadium are sold out; space is the pressure. But we鈥檙e finding ways to deal with that and if we can鈥檛 succeed on this site then we may look at other opportunities in keeping with the strategy and the focus of the government of Dubai. The government of Dubai, as we all know, wants new things at top international standards; we鈥檝e got the Meydan horse racing, the horse industry, a city being built right now at Nad Al Sheba. That is the aspiration of the government. So when they鈥檙e doing something, they鈥檙e doing the best that can be done. When the tennis stadium was built 12 years ago, it replaced a temporary structure, which was built each year for the tennis, which was made of scaffolding and it worked very well, it was a lovely atmosphere. It was replaced by the tennis stadium, which was designed and built in 9 months, it was an incredible feat. Now it鈥檚 got to the point where that is also moving towards its capacity and we have to make provisions for the future. But it was world class, has been world class, and in actual fact it is world class as voted by the players year in, year out over the past 10 years. But yes, there is space pressure.

You mentioned that you have plans to build a new hotel. What other new developments are you planning?

Well, on this site we feel that the hotel will maximize the space that is available to us in terms of it going to the extent where we will be putting a very big building over ground and then putting parking underground and gardens on top of it again because we think it鈥檚 important to maintain this green oasis in the middle of the city. The hotel itself has 295 rooms, with several restaurants, bars, function rooms, meeting rooms, etc. We have already added 3 restaurants to Century Village, with the new grounds and the new tennis courts. We have put in the Akaru spa, which has now been with us for three years and that鈥檚 evolving very well. The scale of construction causes its own problems in that we鈥檝e lost a lot of car parking at the front of the building right now, and we鈥檝e substituted it, with the cooperation of the municipality, with other parking opposite the stadium. So it鈥檚 working but in terms of room for development here, there might be room for some very small things, maybe a few small restaurants or something similar. We鈥檝e got a physiotherapy clinic here, which we鈥檙e looking at evolving. We鈥檝e got things like ladies鈥� and gents鈥� hair salons, dedicated nail spas, things like that. We鈥檙e slotting in all the bits of the community. So there might be room for some small developments. We鈥檙e thinking of putting in a small pharmacy and a small grocery store in front of the hotel development but we don鈥檛 see that there鈥檚 much room to do much more than that. The idea of the hotel was to finalize the available space while maintaining the integrity of the site. But, looking outside of what we鈥檙e doing here, we are building a new Irish Village at Festival City. We expect that to be in operation by October or November of this year. We鈥檙e looking at other opportunities to expand the Irish Village out to other parts of the city and possibly to other parts of the region. Right now we鈥檙e focusing on Dubai and we believe that you get your foundation right in Dubai and then we can do other things very quickly later.

Do you think that, on a long term scale, you鈥檒l be able to export this concept internationally?

Definitely we鈥檒l be able to export the Irish Village concept. It鈥檚 been a brand that has evolved very well over the past 11 years and it seems to have created a life of its own. We鈥檙e very lucky; two weeks ago we had Sir Bob Geldof playing at the Irish Village and he told us that he liked the venue, he liked the atmosphere. Again, there鈥檚 an easiness about what we鈥檙e doing here. In the Irish Village itself, we have a lot of Irish staff there, we like to keep as many Irish staff as we possibly can. The whole Irish concept, the Irish notion, has been successful internationally. What we鈥檝e done with the Irish Village, we feel, is we鈥檝e focused on authenticity and it鈥檚 not just a case of putting up an Irish fa莽ade and off you go. It鈥檚 not the fa莽ade itself, it was built in Ireland, put into containers, brought over here and built over here by Irish trades people on site here. That is something that we believe brings soul. There鈥檚 a lot of soul in the Irish Village and it鈥檚 very well supported, it鈥檚 very much a community place. People come down on Fridays or Saturdays, in the daytime it鈥檚 full of families and their kids. We鈥檙e very lucky in terms of the environment; we鈥檝e got the lake there in front of it and a lot of greenery around, there鈥檚 soul to the place. It鈥檚 not easy to export soul! But we believe that it is possible, not easy but possible. We do think that it is an idea that can be transported and replicated, not easily, but can be done.鈥�