Countdown is on to the Dubai Rugby Sevens

We’ve been up to The Sevens Stadium this week to check out the progress ahead of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens taking place from December 3-5. We sat down with tournament director Jim Fitzsimons and Donal Kilalea, tournament commercial and operations manager, to find out how preparations are going. 7DAYS: Are you ready for next week?  Donal Kilalea (DK): The site in terms of the infrastructure is 95 per cent complete. All the grandstands are up, all the facilities are in and the next seven days will see sponsors finishing their set-up. The last six to eight weeks has been a huge amount of background work on the site, and that’s the most important thing to make it ready. Will we see anything different this year in terms of the set-up?  Jim Fitzsimons (JF): We have increased the size of the grandstands so there is more seating than there ever has been before. That’s one of the main areas of improvement, the next is that we have numbered the reserve seating and the new section called premium seating. Was this something fans were asking for?  JF: It’s been a comment, but it’s a comment we have found with other events that are here – people like to have their own seats. They don’t want to rush in and secure a seat. Have any changes been made to pitch one?  JF: We have raised the level of the grandstands a metre higher, which has allowed us to install larger TV screens on the main pitch. They are larger and don’t obstruct the view. What will feature off the pitch?  DK: We have always had the Sabaa 7’s kids club, but this year we will also have the teen zone. It goes back to the focus that our tournament is much more than just rugby. In 2014, 100,000 people attended – what’s the expectations this year?  DK: The beauty of this ground is that we can take as many people as we want. It’s such a large area, there are the grandstands and there are eight metres around pitch one for standing room only. We had a world record in 2009 of 50,000 people each day. JF: We can comfortably take 60,000-65,000 fans [a day]. DK: We would like to see 5 to 10 per cent growth. That’s based on the fact there’s now eight pitches at the ground so there’s extra teams and there’s a new netball tournament as well. Hopefully we will keep ourselves relevant to the residents and new residents of Dubai. When you look back did you expect the event to have grown so big?  DK: Jim used to bring teams out as a coach in 2004 at the old ground… JF: Our stadium has only been up since 2008 and now we have put in two extra pitches, netball courts and we have six cricket pitches. It’s grown so quickly that goodness knows in five years time where we are going to be? If you look at the city of Dubai, it’s moving this way. By 2019 this place will be surrounded. When you go to other World Series events, how is Dubai portrayed among the other organisers?  JF: They are not envious, they just realise that Dubai is a different tournament to any of the others. There is no other tournament in the series that runs an invitational tournament alongside the men’s series, plus the women’s series at the same time. No other series does that. We have just under 300 teams playing rugby. When we get the organisers from other events coming we just blow them away. This is the biggest rugby tournament in the world. The invitational tournament must be a huge factor for the growth of the whole event?  DK: The standard of the invitation teams has grown phenomenally. When I look back to 2003, some of the teams were old codgers who come on and off, now the standard is exceptional. What is your long-term ambition for the event?  DK: Our role is always to ensure that we get better – get better and stay relevant for everyone. Dubai is a very transient place, expats and residents come and go. We want to make sure we are the must-attend event of the year. Generating money through tourism The Sevens may be one of the most popular events for UAE residents, but the number of international visitors is also on the rise. Tournament director Jim Fitzsimons said: “As far as the HSBC Sevens Series is concerned there is a large group of people who travel to the main events. It’s amazing the amount of money that is brought into Dubai by the Dubai Sevens. It’s growing every year and more tourists are coming to the tournament.” TICKET PRICES  Thursday, December 3: Free admission Friday, December 4: In advance Dhs300, on the day Dhs400 Saturday, December 5: In advance Dhs300, on the day Dhs400 Season tickets (Friday and Saturday): In advance Dhs500, on the day Dhs600 Children under 12 are admitted free of charge if accompanied by an adult. See dubairugby7s.com