27 March 2007
On March 21, the Al Ahli Group (AAG) announced its partnership with US-based Marvel Entertainment that will see the comic publisher's characters become part of a new theme park in Dubai.
The $1bn theme park is due to open its doors in 2011, though AAG has not yet announced where it will be located. When up and running, it will be the first entertainment centre of its kind in the region.
According to Mohamed Khammas, AAG's chief executive officer, the concept of family destinations had not yet evolved in the Middle East.
The Al Ali Group's partnership with Marvel Entertainment serves a long pursued quest of creating the ultimate entertainment destination for families and children of the region and the world, a destination where they can live their childhood fantasies and create new memories for the entire family to cherish and remember, he said at a press conference announcing the tie up with Marvel.
Khammas said AAG and Marvel had also opened talks on further projects throughout the Middle East region and that AAG was considering creating a separate entity to develop the project and raise money through a listing on the Dubai International Financial Exchange.
David Maisel, the chairman of Marvel Studios, commented, The Al Ahli Group has both an impressive team of theme park, entertainment and hospitality executives and the financial strength to leverage that expertise into a world-class destination resort experience unparalleled in the region.
The team that will be developing the as yet unnamed theme park will be based in Hollywood California, Orlando in Florida and Dubai during the four-year lead up to the park's opening.
The announcement came after two years of steady negotiations and represented a significant achievement for Dubai in its quest to further develop its tourism industry.
There had been rumours, strongly denied by all sides, that Disney had also held talks on licensing its range of characters for a theme park in Dubai.
The deal comes at a time when the profile of Marvel's range of characters is at an all time high. Thanks to successful movie spin offs featuring a number of its creations, such as Spiderman, the X-Men and the Incredible Hulk, the company has shifted from being a leading comic book producers to being a major entertainment corporation. Among Marvel's 5000 characters, it is expected that the best known of the range will be featured in the rides and facilities to be offered.
The announcement of the new theme park also marks a step forward in the development of AAG as a major international corporation. Since its foundation 39 years ago, it has developed into a broad-based group with interests in many sectors, ranging from construction and manufacturing to transport and retail.
In 2004, it signed on to develop a major mixed use project as part of Dubailand, the government-supported $20bn residential, business and entertainment complex being built close to the Dubai airport.
AAG's part in the project will be the Dubai Outlet City, which will bring together a shopping complex, a business park, a marketing centre and top end resorts and hotels.
On March 21, the Al Ahli Group (AAG) announced its partnership with US-based Marvel Entertainment that will see the comic publisher's characters become part of a new theme park in Dubai.
The $1bn theme park is due to open its doors in 2011, though AAG has not yet announced where it will be located. When up and running, it will be the first entertainment centre of its kind in the region.
According to Mohamed Khammas, AAG's chief executive officer, the concept of family destinations had not yet evolved in the Middle East.
The Al Ali Group's partnership with Marvel Entertainment serves a long pursued quest of creating the ultimate entertainment destination for families and children of the region and the world, a destination where they can live their childhood fantasies and create new memories for the entire family to cherish and remember, he said at a press conference announcing the tie up with Marvel.
Khammas said AAG and Marvel had also opened talks on further projects throughout the Middle East region and that AAG was considering creating a separate entity to develop the project and raise money through a listing on the Dubai International Financial Exchange.
David Maisel, the chairman of Marvel Studios, commented, The Al Ahli Group has both an impressive team of theme park, entertainment and hospitality executives and the financial strength to leverage that expertise into a world-class destination resort experience unparalleled in the region.
The team that will be developing the as yet unnamed theme park will be based in Hollywood California, Orlando in Florida and Dubai during the four-year lead up to the park's opening.
The announcement came after two years of steady negotiations and represented a significant achievement for Dubai in its quest to further develop its tourism industry.
There had been rumours, strongly denied by all sides, that Disney had also held talks on licensing its range of characters for a theme park in Dubai.
The deal comes at a time when the profile of Marvel's range of characters is at an all time high. Thanks to successful movie spin offs featuring a number of its creations, such as Spiderman, the X-Men and the Incredible Hulk, the company has shifted from being a leading comic book producers to being a major entertainment corporation. Among Marvel's 5000 characters, it is expected that the best known of the range will be featured in the rides and facilities to be offered.
The announcement of the new theme park also marks a step forward in the development of AAG as a major international corporation. Since its foundation 39 years ago, it has developed into a broad-based group with interests in many sectors, ranging from construction and manufacturing to transport and retail.
In 2004, it signed on to develop a major mixed use project as part of Dubailand, the government-supported $20bn residential, business and entertainment complex being built close to the Dubai airport.
AAG's part in the project will be the Dubai Outlet City, which will bring together a shopping complex, a business park, a marketing centre and top end resorts and hotels.
© Oxford Business Group 2007
