Atkins has been appointed to deliver detailed design and construction supervision services for the Sultan Qaboos Sports Academy in Muscat, Oman.

The academy will be a state-of-the-art complex including 60-m and 200-m indoor running tracks and an indoor aquatic training centre, with Olympic-size swimming and diving pools and spectator stands for 1,000 people.

A 3,000-seat outdoor tennis stadium will be a focal point of the design, featuring a roof structure that illuminates at night. Additional facilities will include football fields, a 400-m athletics track, a tennis stadium, beach volleyball courts, a gymnasium, sports medicine centre, sports science faculty and laboratories.

Atkins’ concept designer Rohan Thotabaduge said: “The architecture of the scheme has taken into account Omani culture and the local history of the area.

“The roof structure has been designed to reflect the iconic memory of the Bausher sand dunes and will be a glowing beacon at night.”

“Its structure will be visually prominent when viewed from the expressway and beyond, helping to draw young Omani athletes to the academy, while creating a sense of place and community appeal. It will interconnect all the buildings on the upper level, providing shade and enhancing sustainability,” Thotabaduge added.

Atkins has developed the design concept as a flexible design solution amid limitations such as area constraints.
The complex will provide equal opportunity for men and women athletes.