(ATR) Qatar sports leaders tell Around the Rings the upcoming Asian Games will leave a lasting sporting and economic legacy for the country. The Asian Games run December 1 to 15 in the capital of Doha.
More than $2.8 billion has been pumped into infrastructure projects for the biggest multi-sport event outside the Summer Olympics and the largest sporting event ever to take place in the Middle East.
There will be no white elephants, says Abdullah Al Najjar, DAGOC's planning, coordination and integration manager. Of the 38 sports venues, 80 per cent are permanent and 20 per cent temporary.
"Many of the sports venues will be left as a legacy of the games and used for future events," he tells Around the Rings.
"The government and DAGOC looked at the sports that aren't popular here and for these we only have temporary venues," he says.
Khalifa Stadium, the 50,000-seat showpiece venue hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, will be retained at its current capacity and used for big football finals and athletics in its legacy mode.
Among the temporary structures are the 1,200-capacity velodrome, built on the indoor football pitch at the Aspire Academy, and the beach volleyball event's 1,500-seat centre court. The main press centre is situated in temporary buildings next to the Qatar International Exhibition Hall.
But the best example of legacy planning may be the Asian Games Village. It features 32 buildings including more than 800 apartments and 45 national Olympic committee offices, along with parking facilities.
After the games, this village will be transformed to be part of Doha's Hamad Medical City. On completion in 2007, the site will include four hospitals, outpatient clinics, residential buildings and recreational facilities.
Najjar says it will become "one of the best-equipped medical centers in the region".
Sports Legacy for Qatari Youth
The modernization of the sports infrastructure is also paving the way forward for the athletes of tomorrow, says Qatar NOC secretary general Al-Thani.
"Sport for all is our slogan, so we're trying to make sport available for everybody in Qatar whether foreigner or native. We want to touch every aspect of life through sport," he says.
Increasing the participation of Qatar youth in sport is a key strategy.
The Aspire Academy's wide range of facilities at Sport City, the hub of competition for the Asian Games, is mainly used by students. The number living, studying and training there is expected to rise from the current 300 to 1,000 in the next two years.
"Through the academy we are training and looking after the best talent in Qatar in order to take them to the highest level possible - hopefully to produce an Olympic champion one day."
Al-Thani says a successful Asian Games will boost the country's chances of winning the 2016 Olympics. But first Qatar is bidding to secure forthcoming world champs in swimming, indoor athletics and table tennis.
"We have a strategy at the NOC and we are pushing forward with it," he says.
Reported from Doha by Mark Bisson.