The Challenge
Dubai Sports World is rooted in big ambitions. The largest indoor summer sports venue in the Gulf region, its mission is to help Dubai’s population keep active during the hot summer months. Using a pioneering digital strategy, it has put technology at the heart of its operation.
Driven by the passion of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, the temporary venue is a feat of modern engineering. Converted from exhibition space that is used at other times of the year, it features 25,000 square meters of air-conditioned playing areas and facilities, including an indoor running track and a host of ball courts and gym facilities.
With an aim to ensure that Dubai Sports World is enjoyed by as many people as possible across the region, OpenPlay rolled out a state-of-the-art technology system to help people access the venue as easily as possible.
Bespoke Development
Our booking system was launched at Dubai Sports World in 2017 to make the process faster and more streamlined for people, with a mobile app placed at the heart of everything we developed.
Other innovations included creating an innovative map-based booking facility, which was the first of its kind, along with a touch-screen check-in process, that enabled people to quickly enter the facility.
With Dubai being such a multi-cultural city, and many people re-locating to the region for the career opportunities, we also designed features like an online ‘player finder’. This helps people to connect through sport, giving them the opportunity to book a sports game along with finding buddies for sessions and matches.
Adding Value
In the three years since OpenPlay’s technology has been in place at Dubai Sports World, over 150,000 bookings have been made, along with 50,000 people connecting via the player-finder tool.
Along with helping to drive bookings, this technology generates vital data to enable the venue to evaluate how well it is reaching people across Dubai’s population and ensure it is engaging a diverse range of people about the venue’s benefits.
