Toa Payoh's New Stadium: A Game-Changer for Football?
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| The 10,000-seater stadium in TPID (credit: Playmaker SG) |
The groundbreaking of the Toa Payoh Integrated Development (TPID) earlier today (5/1) at the former site of the Toa Payoh Sports Centre should bring some smiles to football fans in this country.
One of the key features of the new development, which is scheduled to be completed in 2030, is a 10,000-seater stadium that should answer the prayers of those who long to see another football-centric arena besides those at Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) and Jurong East Stadium (JE).
AT LEAST THREE ATTEMPTS IN LAST 30 YEARS
Based on what I gathered, there were, at least, three attempts to have such arena for that sole purpose in the last thirty-odd years.| Tampines Rovers SC's blueprint in 1992 (NLB Archive) |
The first plan I came across was mooted by Tampines Rovers Sports Club (not to be confused with the Singapore Premier League club of the same name) in a TNP (The New Paper) article back in January 1992.
Another plan for "one medium-sized football-specific stadium" was listed under "5. Football Facilities" in the lesser-known "Strategic Plan" unveiled by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) in April 2010.
The privately owned Lion City Sailors, whose ambition was reported by The Straits Times in November 2021, were the most recent to intend to have one for themselves.
THE SCHEDULING CONFLICTS
The topic of having another football-dedicated stadium besides JBS (capacity 6,000) and JE (2,700) resurfaced after fans voiced their disappointment when the 55,000-seater National Stadium was not available for the recent AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup semi-final (1st Leg) match between Singapore and Vietnam.| AFF ME Cup: Singapore vs Vietnam at JBS on Boxing Day 2024 |
"The capacity gap between our biggest and 2nd (sic) biggest stadium is so big 6000 vs 55,000. Why does MCCY have no plans to create a mid size 15,000 capacity stadium? Can't they upgrade 1 (sic) of the many stadiums to 15,000 capacity? ..." suggested a Facebook user named "Ivan Goh" in response to one of the recent Facebook postings by FAS on the relocation of the venue.
(Note: most of the public stadiums in Singapore are owned by Sport Singapore [SportSG] is a statutory board under MCCY [Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth])
Due to scheduling conflicts resulting from the organisers, the Asean Football Federation's (AFF) decision to reschedule the regional biennial showpiece, the above-mentioned match between the Lions and the Golden Star Warriors was staged at JBS that saw a packed capacity on Boxing Day instead of having it at the cornerstone of the Singapore Sports Hub, where Mandarin pop superstar JJ Lin's concert was held during the same timeframe.
SMALLER STADIUM AT PUNGGOL IN 2026
Besides the stadium in TPID, the soon-to-be-completed Punggol Regional Sports Centre (PRSC) will also have a stadium of a smaller scale once completed in 2026.
Replying to two separate parliamentary questions filed last April and November, the MCCY said the PRSC "will have a 5,000-seater stadium, ..." and "the construction progress was significantly delayed, and the opening of the sport centre had to be delayed to 2026."
The likelihood of having a stadium solely for football may not align with the way sporting facilities have traditionally been developed in Singapore.
The preceding examples of both JE and JBS clearly illustrated the points mentioned above when the two stadiums are nested in the ActiveSG Jurong East Sports Centre and Jalan Besar Sports Centre, respectively, where other facilities like a swimming pool, gym, etc. are included to cater to the needs of the public.
Replying to two separate parliamentary questions filed last April and November, the MCCY said the PRSC "will have a 5,000-seater stadium, ..." and "the construction progress was significantly delayed, and the opening of the sport centre had to be delayed to 2026."
The likelihood of having a stadium solely for football may not align with the way sporting facilities have traditionally been developed in Singapore.
The preceding examples of both JE and JBS clearly illustrated the points mentioned above when the two stadiums are nested in the ActiveSG Jurong East Sports Centre and Jalan Besar Sports Centre, respectively, where other facilities like a swimming pool, gym, etc. are included to cater to the needs of the public.
"A FLASH IN THE PAN - KGS"
At one point in time, a temporary stand of 1,500, popularly known as King George's Stand or KGS, was erected to increase the capacity of JBS to 8,000 back in 2012 just before the commencement of the Lions XII's maiden Malaysian Super League campaign.| The short-lived King George's Stand (KGS) |
The installation of KGS was part of the sponsorship agreement between FAS and Kingsmen who bore the cost of more than $250,000 to build before the dismantling of the structure upon the expiration of the relevant permit in November 2015, according to a TNP report dated 25th September 2015, which ended the page with the following text: "While a Sport Singapore spokesman said that it is open to similar arrangements in the future, there are no current plans to further increase the capacity at Jalan Besar Stadium."
Even if there is an idea to expand the JBS in the future, the surroundings of the stadium have made it seem impossible. There are several commercial and residential properties that present challenges to such an expansion.
THE NEW STADIUM BE THE SAME LIKE "OTH"?
With the upcoming development of the TPID, fans and other stakeholders can look forward to the completion of a medium-sized stadium in five years. This long-awaited facility is hoped to help resolve the scheduling conflicts we've seen in recent years, caused by the unavailability of the National Stadium to host some of the Lions' home fixtures.However, one question remains: Will the new Toa Payoh Stadium be used in a similar way to "The Town Square" at Our Tampines Hub?