Sheikh Mansour Unveils Al Khail Square at Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club — A New Public Hub for Sport, Culture and Nightlife

A public opening with a clear purpose

On Dec. 15, 2025, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan presided over the opening of Al Khail Square at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club in the capital. The ceremony, held on the club grounds, introduced a new mixed-use precinct the organisers say will host sporting events, cultural gatherings and family leisure activities. The launch was framed as a way to bring the equestrian club’s long-running sporting calendar closer to everyday city life — with spaces for shows, dining and public events meant to run alongside horse sport rather than behind closed gates.

What Al Khail Square contains: facilities, layout and design

The project blends several components around a central outdoor plaza. Visitors will find a flexible open square for concerts and community events, covered pavilions for food and retail, and terraces that step down to landscaped lawns. The club’s release describes a small performance stage, a family play area and a collection of cafés and restaurants that face the main gathering space. Design highlights include shaded walkways, night-time lighting intended to create an evening destination, and sightlines aimed at connecting the plaza visually with the nearby stables and tracks.

At peak times the square is meant to handle several thousand people for major public events, while smaller configurations will work for weekly markets and local performances. The plan points to a mix of temporary and permanent facilities: pop-up vendor stalls and event tents alongside fixed food outlets and sanitation infrastructure. The organisers also flagged event support features such as audiovisual rigging points and modular fencing to allow quick changes between sporting uses and public festivals.

How this fits into Abu Dhabi’s wider plans

Al Khail Square is more than a new plaza; it’s meant to be a bridge between sport and city life. By opening parts of the equestrian campus to the public, the project aligns with Abu Dhabi’s push to widen leisure options and attract year-round visitors. The move also supports the UAE’s broader tourism push, which emphasises experiences that combine culture, food and outdoor events rather than relying only on hotels and luxury retail.

The square could help the city stage more mid-sized cultural events without depending on large indoor arenas. For the local sports scene, it offers a casual way to introduce more residents and families to equestrian events. From an image point of view, it signals that traditional institutions — like the equestrian club — can modernise and play a public role in the capital’s leisure life.

Economic ripple effects and what the release does (and doesn’t) disclose

The organisers say Al Khail Square will bring new foot traffic to nearby businesses and create seasonal jobs tied to hospitality and events. That effect typically shows up first in food, retail and event services, then in related transport and tourism spending. The launch text notes anticipated boosts to local leisure spending but does not provide a public cost estimate, private investment totals, or a breakdown of operating subsidies. Likewise, the release mentions staged programmes for community events and paid ticket nights but stops short of giving a multi-year revenue model or an explicit jobs figure.

In short: the project is pitched as a public-facing boost to the area, but financial and market details that matter to economists and investors were not disclosed in the announcement.

Context and official remarks: the club’s history and next steps

The Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club has a long record of staging horse sport and community riding programs. Over the past decade the club has hosted national competitions and worked on youth and school outreach. The recent opening builds on previous efforts to expand the club’s public profile.

The release included remarks from club officials underlining a desire to create an inclusive public space that complements sporting events. It also listed planned programming for the coming months, including market days and evening concerts. For reporters looking to follow up, useful next steps are to request detailed event calendars, the project’s operating plan, and any available financial or concession agreements that outline who pays for construction and running costs.

Whether Al Khail Square becomes a busy new meeting place for locals and visitors will depend on the variety and frequency of events, and on how well the site links with transport and nearby attractions. The launch makes the intent clear: pull the equestrian world closer to everyday city life and give Abu Dhabi another public venue for sport, food and culture.

Sources

• prnewswire.com