News Release

Meydan Group and Cisco Deliver 21st Century Experience to Race Goers in the UAE

Meydan City Deploys Cisco's Fully Converged IP Infrastructure for Grandstand Campus and The Meydan Hotel
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Jun 29, 2010

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday June 29, 2010 - Cisco announced today that the Meydan Group, which oversees the development of the UAE's new iconic horseracing development in Dubai, is deploying Cisco® networking, security and unified communications technology solutions to deliver high definition video, audio, voice, data and wireless communication over a single network. Meydan City features a world-class grandstand, a 60,000 capacity landmark stadium incorporating a luxurious hotel, breeding and training facilities and six luxury restaurants. The world class horseracing development, the Meydan Grandstand, is also the home of The Meydan Museum, Imax Theatre and Dubai Racing Club. The Meydan Grandstand can comfortably accommodate 10,000 vehicles in covered car parks.  All operations will be now centrally managed from the main control centre using Internet Protocol (IP) technology.

The Cisco technologies that have been deployed at Meydan include a fully converged IP infrastructure running data, voice, video, security, wireless, building management and physical security for the grandstand and The Meydan Hotel. The services also include unified communications for guest use in the hotel rooms, IPTV head end solution for interactive TV used at both the hotel and the grandstand.

Highlights / Key Facts:

  • Cisco Unified Communications connects people, information, and teams, helping to enable comprehensive and effective collaborative experiences. Through the use of cloud computing-based technologies Cisco and the Meydan Group are demonstrating the benefits of adopting unified communications in the UAE.
  • Cisco's next-generation "connected stadium" vision unifies all the disparate, proprietary networks and converges them into a single integrated technology platform capable of delivering next-generation sports and entertainment services. A stadium network can now share voice, data, and video capabilities across all business functions. It can now learn and adapt to a fan's personal preferences by displaying favorite menu choices, controlling the luxury suite climate, reserving parking locations, offering tickets to upcoming events of interest, or displaying statistics about a favorite player.
  • Seeking to establish the Meydan Racecourse as one of the world's leading sports and entertainment venues, the Meydan Group successfully deployed Cisco's converged infrastructure for its grandstand, campus and The Meydan Hotel in time for the 15th Dubai World Cup, in March 2010, which also marked the launch of the racecourse. Cisco worked closely with Cisco Gold partner Gulf Business Machines (GBM), a leading IT solutions provider in the Middle East fulfilling the IT requirements of local, regional and international organizations in the GCC, and Honeywell to deliver the technology.

Supporting Quotes

  • Wassim Hamwi, chief information officer, Meydan LLC
  • "The Cisco converged network implemented by Meydan enabled us to transport high definition video, voice and data over a single network as well as support the necessary infrastructure for remote management of a wide range of services including access control, public address systems, lighting, escalator operation control, video surveillance and interactive visitor information. Through the IP network all information required to record and react to any given situation will be available to Meydan's management team from a well-defined integrated points in real-time".

  • Wayne Hull, director and general manager, Cisco, UAE
  • "Working with the developers of one of  the world's largest integrated racing facilities to deploy Cisco's next-generation "connected stadium" technology is a key milestone for Cisco in the UAE as it    plays an important role  in transforming the fan experience, and enabling team owners and facility operators to change their business processes and realize a competitive advantage. This is true example of how Cisco is changing the way people live, work, learn and play."

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About Meydan

Meydan Group LLC (Limited Liability Company) oversees the development of the UAE's new iconic horseracing development. It will feature a world-class grandstand, and the enterprise will also serve as a major business and conference district.

Derived from an Arabic word which when translated, describes a place where people congregate and compete - Meydan includes five-star hotel, more than 10 fine-dining restaurants, a covered car parking for 10,000, the Meydan Museum and Gallery, IMAX Theatre and the Dubai Racing Club and Emirates Racing Authority offices.

Meydan Racecourse is in close proximity to Meydan City (Horizons) - a self-contained community consisting of high-end commercial and luxury residential plots, retail outlets and air-conditioned arcades with canal, waterfront and promenade views. The Metropolis design is inspired by the elements of Earth and Metal and their associated values of strength, energy and determination, extensive office space across multiple blocks are linked by an impressive LED animated covered mall creating a linear, active urban space. Featuring an expansive commercial, retail and residential mix along with its very own town club and hotel, Metropolis will be the undisputed choice for companies who really mean business.

The Godolphin Parks is a celebration of riverfronts as the focal point for cities of the 21st century. Exceptionally planned Godolphin Parks is a model for development that merges sustainable ecological engineering with urban lifestyle sophistication. For more details please go to http://www.meydan.ae/