360 Architecture Picked To Design Complex In Iraq For '13 Gulf Cup
By Don Muret, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
Iraqi officials have selected 360 Architecture to design a sports complex in Basra, the country's second-largest city, as it starts preparing for the '13 Gulf Cup, an Olympic-style competition among Mideast nations. K.C.-based 360 formed a joint venture with developer Newport Global Project Management and Abdullah Al-Jiburi Contracting Co., Iraq's largest general contractor, to bid for the project. The first phase, estimated to cost $500M, includes a 61,000-seat stadium, a 10,000-seat practice facility and four more practice pitches. Iraq's Ministry of Youth and Sport is administering the project, with groundbreaking set for July 15, said George Heinlein, 360's principal-in-charge. The project needs to be completed by '12 so it can be used for test events before the Gulf Cup in January '13, Heinlein said. Heinlein, whose initial work on the project has taken place in the neighboring nation of Jordan, where Al-Jiburi has an office, will travel to Basra and the Iraqi capital of Baghdad for coordination meetings, he said. 360's J.R. Radtke is the project's lead designer. Newport Global principals include Rounsevelle "Skip" Schaum, a mechanical engineer, MIT professor and U.S. Department of Defense consultant with extensive experience in the Middle East. Facility development teams from Great Britain, China, France, Kuwait, Russia and Turkey also competed for the job. A second phase, proposed to start after the Gulf Cup, calls for building midsize arenas for basketball, volleyball and gymnastics, as well as mixed-use components for athletic housing, restaurants and retail, which could push the total cost to $1B.
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