As part of its 125 anniversary, Gezira Sporting Club has spent LE8 million on renovating its Lido building. Inas Mazhar paid a visit The Lido building lies at the entrance of Gezira -- founded in 1882 it is Egypt's oldest club -- and comprises the main swimming pool as well as other recreational facilities. Renovation on Lido is being done for the first time since the building opened in 1935. According to the chairman of the board, Dr Ahmed El-Said, the renovations took place throughout the building including changing the size and shape of the swimming pool, the basement, vestiers, gymnasium, Jacuzzi and spa. "The building was renewed in such a way as to preserve the outer design and safegaurd the club's heritage," said El-Said who leads the club as chairman for the second straight term. "A soft opening took place in July after which members were able to use the Lido," said board member Ihab Leheita. The official opening will take place after Ramadan. Apart from the Lido building, there will be other celebrations by the end of the year marking the club's birthday, all to kick off after Ramadan. "There will be in-house celebrations in which various sections of the club will present its own activities for one week each," added Leheita who has been serving on the board of directors for 16 years. Leheita, 42, is the oldest member in the current board after having spent four terms starting in 1993. Since its creation, the Gezira Sporting Club has become famous for polo, equestrianship, golf, croquet, tennis, squash, gymnastics and basketball. "There are almost 30 sports being played here in the club," Leheita said. But Leheita also acknowledged the weaknesses. "While we are pioneers in some sports like squash, tennis and basketball in which we are the national league title holders, we face some problems in some other sports like handball. We have approached the Egyptian Handball Federation and its president Hassan Mustafa (who is also the president of the international body) who has promised to support us so that the club's handball team can recapture its glory days." Known as the club of the elite, Gezira is keen on preserving its identity by having all its teams comprised of club members only. The club spends almost LE17 million a year on sports activities. Years ago there were plans for an underground parking lot and commercial mall, however Leheita said it was impossible to build an underground garage or even one on the street "because it is not the role of the club to build a garage. As for the mall "it is out of the question." The club is building an indoor hall and two artificial turf football fields. The hall will replace the famous tennis centre court. "We really need an indoor hall like the rest of the clubs," Leheita said. "We pay LE900 to Cairo Stadium for each training session for our basketball team. But if we have our own hall, we would save a lot of money and could host international events as well." Like many other big clubs in Egypt Gezira is in the process of building another branch, in Sixth of October City. Leheita said the club had signed a contract for a 50-feddan piece of land and that the down payment would be paid and the construction would start as soon as the board gives its approval sometime this month. When first established, the Gezira club was called the Khedivial Sporting Club (KSC) in honour of Khedive Mohamed Tewfik (r.1879-92). It was during his time and due to his largess that the club was created for the benefit of the British army and the army of British administrators. And while Gezira's lifetime membership was LE50, it now stands at LE130,000, the most of any club in Egypt. Leheita said the club had scratched 10 members who had not been paying their dues, and replaced them with 10 new members who paid LE1,300,000, which will help the club continue its renovations. The Gezira Sporting Club's 150 acres were carved out of the Khedivial Botanical Gardens, hence the acacias and jacarandas that adorned the area. Once the land was formally leased to the British military command, club rules were chartered and the land demarcated into several recreational playing grounds. At first, the club was for the use of the British Army of Occupation. What had started as a British military club evolved into one of Egypt's greatest outdoor attractions. Over the next five decades Gezira Sporting Club remained both a landmark institution and one of Cairo's greatest assets.
