Arada has announced that the third and final phase of its Aljada Skate Park, billed as the largest facility of its kind in the Middle East, is now open.
Located in the Madar family entertainment district of the Aljada community in Sharjah, the skate park was opened by Keegan Palmer, the Australian skateboarding Olympic gold medallist, who helped design its third phase.
Spread over a 90,000sqft area, the skate park contains a beginner section, an intermediate section, and a pro-level street and park section, which will allow the facility to host global standard competitions.
In early October 2022, Arada launched the Masaar Discovery Centre.
The pro-level phase of Aljada Skate Park contains design elements inspired by famous skate parks from around the world, from Bondi Beach to Salt Lake City, where Keegan has competed, including a large vert wall that can also be found at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo, where he won the gold medal in 2021.
Keegan Palmer, Aljada Skate Park Ambassador said, “This is not only the largest but also the most challenging and creative skate park anywhere in the region. Aljada Skate Park is now a focal point for the growing skate community here in the UAE, and I’m very excited about the future plans that we have for this amazing facility.”
Joining Keegan Palmer to launch the park were HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, Vice Chairman of Arada, Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO of Arada, Sabatino Aracu, President of World Skate, the global governing body for skateboarding and a number of other officials.
Also in early October 2022, Arada awarded $124mn in contracts to Airolink for development of Aljada homes.
Skaters from across the UAE and beyond got to hear Keegan talk about his Olympic and Aljada journeys, as well as the chance to learn tips and tricks at special skate clinics. In addition, another of the world’s top skaters, Pedro Barros, who won silver at Tokyo 2020, also impressed the crowd with his skills.
Skaters also got the opportunity to show off their own skills and compete to win during the eye-catching Skate & Chill event hosted by Californian shoe brand Vans. The competition gave away prizes for the best tricks performed over six sections of Aljada Skate Park, with visitors also treated to a festival atmosphere along with giveaways, a DJ, plenty of food and the opportunity to customise Vans shoes.
Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO of Arada added, “Our strategy has always been to deliver world-class facilities to inspire residents and visitors to our communities, and Aljada Skate Park is no exception. We’re delighted to support this rapidly growing sport here in the UAE, and will shortly be sharing our plans to put Sharjah on the map as a global destination for professional skateboarding.”
In late October 2022, the developer said it closed a $100mn tap of Sukuk issuance.
Special guests from the Gabriel Can Foundation, which aims to teach children diagnosed with autism to skate, were given a warm welcome with a special hour-long event specially designed for them.
Spread over a 24m sqft area and with 25,000 homes, Aljada is Sharjah’s largest project and a transformational destination for the emirate. Since opening in early 2020, Madar at the Aljada entertainment district has welcomed over three million visitors, the developer noted.
The first phase of Madar contains the Aljada Discovery Center, the Zad food truck district, a free-to-enter drive-in cinema, a children’s adventure playground, an indoor events space, an outdoor amphitheatre and the world-class Aljada Skate Park. Scheduled to open next year, the second phase of Madar will contain a Wellfit gym – Sharjah’s largest fitness space – and a BOUNCE trampoline park.
In late November 2022, Arada entered the Dubai real estate market with the launch of Jouri Hills.