Moves are in the pipeline to transform Cairo Stadium into a full-fledged Olympic city, reports Ghada Abdel-Kader In preparation for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations Cairo International Stadium was closed for more than a year for renovation, but now there is talk of more changes in the works. The National Sports Council (NSC) has a vision for developing Cairo Stadium in a big way. It aims at transforming the stadium into a complete sportive city for playing, practicing and teaching sport in the Middle East. The ambitious project, called Cairo Sports City, will be a substantial addition to sport in Egypt. Cairo Stadium covers 975,000 square metres, including 699,000 square metres of vacant land in the immediate area. The stadium is to use much of this piece of real estate to become a cultural, commercial and amusement centre. It will of course remain the capital of Egyptian sports. It aims at developing the stadium while safeguarding it as government property by placing supervisory mechanisms from the NSC. "Cairo Stadium is not for sale," Hassan Saqr, chairman of Egypt's National Sports Council, said, quashing rumours it will be sold to the highest bidder. "Nor will it be purchased by the private sector but the sector can participate in its investment, development and management. This will increase the resources needed to develop sports institutions without violations of any rights. It also harbours the ambitious plan during the next five years to train and increase the number of workers in Cairo Stadium 10 fold," Saqr added. The council will adopt new policies that will remove all legal and administrative constraints hindering investment in sport, he said. The NSC has issued tenders in national newspapers. The minister of investment in cooperation with the NSC will provide the facilities needed for the new city. The bid's requirements were prepared by the committee in cooperation with Zeniab Adel, consultant and representative of the ministry of investment. Saqr added, "In establishing Cairo Sports City we are making the biggest four Olympic cities in the world, Munich, Sydney, London and Beijing, as examples to emulate." "The stadium spends LE32 million yearly while its income is LE7 million maximum," Abdel-Aziz Amin, executive director of Cairo Stadium, said, alluding to the fact that it has become a money loser, not a maker of cash. "The stadium needs huge financial yields to develop and renovate installations and construct new ones," added Amin. Sahar El-Sallab, chairman of the NSC investment and marketing committee, said the plan is most important for developing sports in Egypt. "There is a basic change in the sports industry. Sports have changed from a consumer to economic activity like any other economic activity in Egypt. The project will introduce modern techniques in marketing by opening new markets for investment and development in Egyptian sports." An investment and marketing committee in the NSC seeks to lure the private sector in investing in the new stadium in a bid to find the best ways to benefit from this sports edifice, considered a national treasure. The plan aims at expanding and encouraging the practicing of sports by different categories in society, creating the best conditions possible for athletes to prepare them for international championships and to put Egypt on the map of global sports facilities, using investment returns to support the making of champions and strengthening the infrastructure to host sporting events at local, regional and global levels. It also seeks to transform the stadium into a profit-making institution while preserving its identity and to create sports tourism by attracting the largest number possible of regional and international sporting events. Training courses and raising the skills of sports-related bodies will also feature highly. In short, officials hope to change the stadium into a sporting and cultural center for the community, all the while making Cairo Sports City within the financial reach of all classes of society and in all occasions. Cairo International Stadium has borne witness to several sporting moments of local and international stature, most notably in football. Since the day it was built in 1960, the stadium hosted many important matches that still survive in the memories of all Egyptians. The stadium was the scene of the final of the African Cup of Nations in 1986, when Egypt beat Cameroon. It also was an eyewitness when Egypt beat Algeria in 1989 to qualify for the World Cup of 1990. The stadium was where the final of the U-17 World Cup in 1997 was played. Cairo Stadium was established over several stages during the past 47 years. The football stadium was constructed in 1960 and its main hall in 1984.The squash complex was built in 1985. The swimming pools appeared in 1990 and a compound of indoor halls, a field hockey stadium and tennis court were built in 1991.
