As Govt takes over ownership of Sports Hub, users wish for more community events to shed its ‘white elephant’ image

SINGAPORE — A flea market for sports wares, a velodrome and more community events, rather than the occasional Justin Bieber concert or major sporting game. 

This is what frequent users of the Singapore Sports Hub and members of the local sports fraternity would like to see at the Kallang facility, after the Government announced on Friday (June 10) that it would take over full ownership of the sprawling 35ha complex to “unlock” its “full potential for Singapore”.

Cycling race organiser Zulkifli Awab said that of the many events that the stadiums could be used for, the only events he sees taking place there are big-ticket concert tours from global celebrities the likes of Justin Bieber and Jay Chou.

“What I want to see in the future when the Government takes over is that it is easier for me as an event planner to host events there,” said the 47-year-old founder of community cycling group HolyCrit.

“Hopefully we can utilise more of the stadium than it being a white elephant as it is right now.”

Sport Singapore (SportSG) on Friday said that it and commercial entity SportsHub Pte Ltd have mutually agreed to terminate their public-private partnership. The Government will take back ownership and management of the Sports Hub from Dec 9, terminating the agreement 13 years ahead of time.

In a press conference earlier on Friday, SportSG chairman Kon Yin Tong said that the statutory board intends to make the Sports Hub more accessible to the broader community for sports, lifestyle, entertainment, leisure and social uses, all while maintaining its commercial sustainabilty.

In interviews with TODAY, the term “white elephant” was used more than once by Sports Hub visitors and members of the sports fraternity to describe the eight-year-old integrated sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub in Kallang that reportedly cost S$1.33 billion to build.

Many noted that the facilities are often underutilised and said they hope the Government could do more to attract crowds to the Sports Hub.

Beach volleyball coach Daniel Tan, 30, said that despite the Sports Hub’s supposed iconic status as a world class facility, he felt that the sparse venue lacked public events and was in reality a “boring” place.

Mr Tan, who visits the Sports Hub almost every day to coach, said that beach volleyball courts are not well maintained which he suggested could be because the courts do not charge users to enter and the private operators may have less incentive to maintain them.

“It doesn’t matter who runs if. If the Government can run it better, why not?”

Triage officer Sean Poh, 32, who returned to the Sports Hub after four years to skateboard with his colleagues, was surprised to see how quiet the complex was on a Friday evening. 

He said he would like to see more transport links such as shuttle services that might bring in more crowds.

Former national sprinter Canagasabai Kunalan, 79, applauded the Government’s move to take over the Sports Hub, saying that it might be cumbersome to have two parties with slightly different objectives manage the complex.

However, he hopes that the Government will be able to keep the complex commercially viable while holding more events and introducing more facilities there in the future.

If that happens, the sporting great whose wish list includes a velodrome for track cycling said: “The whole area will be transformed. I shall be 80 in October, hope I have a chance to see everything.”

CHEQUERED HISTORY

The Sports Hub has had a chequered history that included construction delays, management changes and technical gaffes involving high-profile events.

In 2015, event organisers here said that their plans to stage sporting events at Sports Hub were scuppered because it was too expensive for them. 

Mr Zulkifli recalled how he was charged about S$3,000 in 2017 to rent the track in the National Stadium for a cycling race for four hours.

He had been approached by the Singapore Cycling Federation, which offered to find him a proper venue to host a race after he was jailed and fined for organising and promoting illegal races for cyclists without police approval and permits. 

The cost was a large amount for him since he only charged his participants a nominal sum to attend his events, he said. At the time, the Singapore Cycling Federation helped to pay part of the cost of holding the race while he forked out the rest.

“I’m not making any money from these, HolyCrit is a non-profit organisation,” he said. “Hopefully, when the Government takes over the Sports Hub, holding such community events there will be more feasible for other event organisers.”

Noting the strict rules the stadium had surrounding its use, such as when he was denied permission to sell merchandise during his 2017 race, he suggested that SportSG hold weekly community events such as pop-up fairs where small businesses can sell products on the fields and groups can set up booths to promote their sports.

“Let Singaporeans experience the stadium and the field. Let them feel like this is our stadium, this is our place, not just a place for (major football matches such as) Singapore vs Myanmar or Manchester United vs Liverpool.”

A spokesperson for the Singapore Rugby Union noted that mainly international rugby events such as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series have been held at the Sports Hub. “Hopefully we can have the national club sevens or the league finals at the Sports Hub in the future,” he said.

Singapore Athletics president Lien Choong Luen said he hopes more athletes will have a chance to experience the electrifying energy of competing that the old National Stadium had in its time. 

“This means that we could hopefully host more events there, whether it be National Schools, that was held in Bukit Gombak this year, or the Singapore Open, that was organised at the Home of Athletics (the former Kallang Practice Track located next to the Sports Hub) this year.”