Qatar to have largest indoor dome

Qatar's Sports Academy Aspire will have the largest indoor sports dome in the world when it opens in November.

The dome's official opening ceremony is scheduled between November 17 and 19 along with Qatar's first Sport Science Conference, an international gathering of sports specialists that will address a range of critical subjects in the field of sports development.

The staggering 290,000 square-metre dome has been specifically engineered for excellence, offering state-of-the-art sports science laboratories and fitness halls under its sloping roof.

Facilities within the dome include a full-sized football field and a five-a-side pitch, a 200 metre athletics track, an Olympic-size swimming pool and diving pool, a gymnastics hall, a sports games hall, 13 table-tennis courts, three contact sports mats, eight fencing strips and two squash courts which will come into use when Qatar hosts the Doha Asian Games in 2006.

"Aspire's dome will be a landmark for the sporting world and provides a source of inspiration for athletes across this region," said Thomas Flock, director general of Aspire.

"The November event will provide Qatar with an international celebration of sport and sporting achievement, centred on the opening of the sports dome.

"Our aim is to use the event to bring together the key elements that will support the development of student athletes within Aspire."

Organisers said internationally famous sporting legends will attend the three-day event, but did not disclose their names.

Aspire is a government-funded institution, which aims to host up to 1,000 talented boys and girls from Qatar and the Gulf region and mould them into future Olympic champions.