UK's Atkins wins Oman sports academy deal

UK-based design and engineering group WS Atkins said on Monday it has won a contract for a new sports academy in Oman.

Atkins has been hire to deliver detailed design and construction supervision services for the Sultan Qaboos Sports Academy in Muscat. It did not give a value for the contract.

The Sultan Qaboos Sports Academy will be a state-of-the-art complex, including 60m and 200m indoor running tracks and an indoor aquatic training centre, with Olympic-size swimming and diving pools and a spectator capacity for 1,000 people.

A 3,000-seat outdoor tennis stadium will also be a focal point of the design, featuring a roof structure that illuminates at night.

Additional facilities will include football fields, a 400m athletics track, a tennis stadium, beach volleyball courts, a gymnasium, sports medicine centre, sports science faculty and laboratories.

Atkins' concept designer, Rohan Thotabaduge, said: "The architecture of the scheme is considerate of the Omani culture and the local history of the area.

"The feature roof structure is designed to be a visible iconic memory of the Bousher sand dunes and will be a glowing beacon at night.

"Its structure will be visually prominent when viewed from the expressway and beyond, drawing the future young Omani athletes into the academy, while creating a sense of place and community appeal. It will interconnect all the buildings on the upper level, providing shade and enhancing sustainability."

Atkins said the complex will provide equal opportunity for men and women athletes.