Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

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

By Gavin Gibbon
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 Baseball United
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.

Person, Electronics, Mobile Phone

Newsletter
Get the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week

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.

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.

Latest articles

Members of the crew of the Bahamas-flagged vessel Galaxy Leader following their release by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis

Shipping giants not yet ready to resume Red Sea route

Two shipping giants said on Friday that they are in no rush to resume routes through the Suez Canal after a Yemeni militia announced earlier this week it will scale back hostilities against vessels transiting through the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea if the ceasefire in Gaza holds. Danish shipper Maersk and Abu Dhabi […]

Electronics, Hardware, Computer Under planned regulations, data centres will be 'fully protected, like embassies,' Saudi Arabia says

Foreign data centres will be secure, promises Saudi minister

A regulatory framework to protect foreign-owned data centres set up in Saudi Arabia is being planned that will treat them in a similar way to embassies, as the kingdom seeks to become a global destination for the industry. The Saudi finance minister, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, outlined the country’s […]

With the acquisition of the Oman business, Americana operates 450 Pizza Hut restaurants across the Mena region

Americana acquires Pizza Hut business in Oman

Americana Restaurants, the largest food service business in the Mena region, has acquired the Pizza Hut brand in Oman from the Khimji Ramdas Group.  The restaurant operator said the acquisition includes 46 Pizza Hut restaurants which had an annual revenue of approximately $11 million in 2024.  The additional outlets increase its Pizza Hut restaurants across […]

Pangaia Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi’s Royal Group buys eco brand Pangaia

Abu Dhabi’s Royal Group has acquired a controlling stake in fashion brand Pangaia. No financial details of the transaction were revealed. Pangaia, which has its headquarters in London, designs eco-friendly clothing made from organic and recycled materials, sold primarily through its website. It uses next-generation materials for its clothing and accessories, including Mirum, a plant-based, plastic-free leather […]