The Sobha Realty partnership helping Arsenal’s training ground get match-fit
Blink and you would miss it. The entrance to the Sobha Realty Arsenal Training Ground is a cutaway in a high hedge running along a row of detached houses where the rolling English countryside meets the motorway network.
A trailblazing centre that was bought and opened in the era of Arsene Wegner's 2003-2004 Invincibles team, the 147-acre site north of London is also a jewel in the global ambitions of the Sobha Realty property empire.
Naming rights were acquired this year, allowing the real estate company to place the team as its prime marketing vehicle.
No one could act as a greater champion of the talking points of the training ground than facilities manager Sean O'Connor. No one except perhaps the former player Tony Adams, who was captain of the club when the 10 new all-weather pitches first opened around the turn of the century.
In fact, the pair make a practised double act, with Mr O'Connor still referring to Mr Adams as captain.
Figures about the ground trip lightly from O'Connor such as the 17 miles of pipes under the pitches or the GBP1 million cost of replacing the hybrid grass, cork and fibre first team practice pitch.
A hanger-like gym facility with training and rehabilitation equipment, including a gravity-altered treadmill adapted from Nasa technology was the last big opening at the Hertfordshire site in 2018 when Unai Emery was the manager. O'Connor hints that another big redevelopment could be on the cards talking about accommodation facilities and partnerships, including specialist health care and rehabilitation ventures.
New levels of ambition for the facility are central to the potential that Juliet Slot, the chief commercial officer of the club and linchpin of the relationship with Sobha, sees as underwritten by the sponsorship template. "You get a sense of the care and attention that goes into every detail to create the best environment to fuel our teams' performance," she said. "Excellence is at the heart of our partnership. Bringing them on board as our naming rights partner for the training ground was something new for us, and their expertise is helping us to realise new opportunities for the space, and ensure we are always moving forward in creating world-class facilities for the future."
The effort to create awareness in the UK of Sobha as a property developer focused on developments in the Middle East, or indeed in Texas and India, is not limited to the TV coverage of the club that came second in the league last season, qualifying for Europe's Champions League football in 2025-26.
The company has also raised awareness with a place on the hallowed turf at Lord's during this week's ICC world test championship of cricket.
There is also a Sobha showroom on the most prized part of the Monopoly board in Park Lane, central London.
The studio on Park Lane is a statement for the business, like the high-profile tie-up with Arsenal, designed for maximum impact. The location is obviously prestigious and a lure for inviting potential clients. It also is well located for people who walk in after recognising the brand or seeking it out online.
For the marketing channels that Sobha maintains in the UK such as its real estate agents, the studio is also a place of hospitality. Displays of new developments dot the two floors of the building, which overlooks Hyde Park.
Sales staff are able to promote Dubai as attractive to the UK investor for a cavalcade of reasons. Property investors in the domestic market are beleaguered and complain of a lost decade.
Property taxes are higher, prices are volatile and not now growing as fast as the previous decade. Rental yields do not clearly exceed the interest and tax levels to give super returns. The attractions of releasing UK property equity and recycling the funds into Dubai holdings have only grown since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A new trend for the sales team is the wave of UK residents who have reacted negatively to recent increases in taxes and the stalled growth of the overall economy, seeking new careers and better lifestyle options in Dubai and the region.
With moving to Dubai on the cards, many new clients are buying off-plan in London with an eye on moving into the development some time after they have set up their new jobs.
"We're witnessing a growing interest in the UK from investors, individuals, and families opting for Dubai as their new home, reflecting an expanding allure of Dubai as an ideal destination globally," said Ashish Parakh, group chief sales and marketing officer. "We are dedicated to facilitating this transition by focusing on developing integrated communities that provide physical space, a sense of belonging, opportunity, and long-term value. We offer tailored services designed for international residents. We guide UK buyers through each stage of their journey to Dubai, enabling them to embark on this new chapter in their lives."
The company likes to boast it has central locations, villa communities, penthouse apartments and mansions.
Most popular is the four or five bedroom home, which is attractive to the demographic of UK residents in their 30s or 40s who boast globally transferable skills. There are lots of UK professionals working in IT, Finance, real estate and technology businesses that are moving over to the UAE, the Sobha staff said. Where once it was investors or those looking for a holiday home, now it is those moving over.
The attractions outside the strictly business aspects are to create a new way of life, to have a lot more day-to-day safety. Many are taking their families on the move and so need that bit more space.
There is also a younger layer of buyer in their 20s or sub-30s with a niche set of buyers with YouTube and influencer profiles. At the Arsenal main stadium the Sobha presence is right next to the club's own media parlour.
It is awash with YouTube talent every week.
Another meeting place of the shared interests between the north London club and the UAE-focused developer.
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018 Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport Size: 9 employees Investment: £1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri North Pole stats Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40?C Weight of equipment: 45kg Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock South Pole stats Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50?C Weight of equipment: 50kg Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
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What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes. It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide "material support or resources" to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO. Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department. Source: US Department of State[1]
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Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned). Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan. Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus. Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people.
His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
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Tomorrow 2021
Defence review at a glance
o Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given "turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster"
o Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems o Invest in the resilience of military space systems. o Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
o More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
o New "hybrid Navy" with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
While you're here
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
References
- ^ US Department of State (www.state.gov)