Business of Sport

Middle East’s first pro baseball park to open in Dubai

September 4, 2024, 11:31 AM

Ballpark figures: Baseball United investors and co-owners Felix Hernandez, Robinson Chirinos, Kash Shaikh and John Miedreich break ground at the site of the Middle East's first professional baseball park, in Dubai

Launchpad for baseball in region
Potential 70m ‘avid’ fans
Season one starts next year

Construction has started on the first professional baseball field and ballpark in the Middle East and South Asia, which is being built on the outskirts of Dubai.

Baseball United, which was launched over a year ago as the first professional league in the region, will call the Sevens sports and entertainment complex its home from the end of this year, when the new ballpark is scheduled to be completed.

The Sevens complex is already used for rugby, football, cricket and netball.

“We wanted a true, purpose-built baseball ballpark that can serve as the launchpad for professional baseball across the region,” said Kash Shaikh, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Baseball United.

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The cost of the new ballpark was not revealed.

Shaikh believes there are close to 70 million avid baseball fans in the region: 53 million in India, 12.5 million in Pakistan, 1.5 million in Saudi Arabia and 800,000 in the UAE.

“Over time we’ll be able to grow this into what we believe will be the next greatest sport in the region,” he said at the launch last year.

The ballpark’s dimensions were modelled after New York’s famous Yankee Stadium, with the fences measuring 97 metres to left field, 96 metres to right field, and 124 metres to centre field.

An artist’s impression of the planned Barry Larkin Field. Picture: Baseball United

The league has partnered with the UK-based company SIS Pitches on the turf, netting, and overall field development; Musco Lighting from the US on the lighting system; and Dubai’s Al Laith on the seating.

The Baseball United Cup and Baseball United Season One will both take place in the new ballpark next year.

The inaugural season will run from October 23 to November 23 next year, and feature five teams: the Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Arabia Wolves, Mid East Falcons, and a yet-to-be-announced Riyadh-based team.

Baseball ready to strike home run in the Middle East

The playing field will be named after Barry Larkin, a co-founder and board member of Baseball United, and a former professional player with the Cincinatti Reds, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021.

Larkin said: “We’ve already played the first professional baseball games in the UAE, and now, to have a field and ballpark of our own, it’s incredible. I can’t wait to set foot on that field later this year.”

In March a partnership agreement was struck between Baseball United and the Saudi Baseball and Softball Federation (SBSF).

Baseball United will open a subsidiary in the kingdom and work with the SBSF to promote baseball in the country, including talent development, curriculum design, coach/umpire training and overall marketing and promotion.