Rashid bin Hamdan Hall, an Emirati landmark of the game
A look at the hall that has staged Emirati basketball for decades.
Safaa Amer
The Rashid bin Hamdan hall is one of the finest arenas in the United Arab Emirates, having hosted many prominent sporting events at local, regional and international level. It was formerly known as the Al Nasr club hall.
It was officially opened in 1988 and named after Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairman of Al Nasr Cultural and Sports Club, having previously been known simply as the main sports hall at Al Nasr.
Al Nasr's teams carry out all their activity in the hall; previously they had used the club's outdoor courts, and the hall resolved that difficulty.
In its opening year the Rashid bin Hamdan hall hosted the World Snooker Championship, becoming a centre for many local and international sporting events, and in the mid-1990s it staged an exhibition match by the Harlem club of the United States.
The hall also hosts cultural festivals and seats around 2,500 spectators.
The sports federations have relied on it as one of the principal venues for local, Gulf and international competitions.
In terms of facilities and equipment, the Rashid bin Hamdan hall houses the latest training apparatus, along with a gymnasium and many other sporting facilities.
The hall also contains a modern medical clinic serving all of Al Nasr's sports teams.
All of this has made the hall the headquarters of the club's team and individual sports departments, covering swimming, basketball, handball, table tennis, volleyball, and the karate and taekwondo teams, all for both men and women.
The Rashid bin Hamdan hall is likewise the headquarters of the club's futsal team (which comes under the football company), the athletics team (men and women), the jiu-jitsu team (men and women), and archery.
