Former National Stadium, Singapore

Former National Stadium
Location Kallang, Singapore
Owner Singapore Sports Council
Operator Singapore Sports Council
Capacity 55,000
Surface Grass
Construction
Broke ground 1966
Opened July 1973
Closed 30 June 2007
Demolished 2010–2011
Tenants
Singapore Lions
Singapore Sports Council

The former Singapore National Stadium (Malay: Stadium Nasional Singapura) was located in Kallang. The stadium opened in July 1973 and officially closed on 30 June 2007, and was demolished in 2010–2011 to make way for the Singapore Sports Hub and the new Singapore National Stadium, which opened in 2014. For six to seven years between 2007 and 2014, sports events were temporarily held at the Marina Bay Floating Stadium.

The stadium played host to many sporting, cultural, entertainment and national events, such as the Southeast Asian Games when it was hosted in Singapore, the Singapore Armed Forces Day, the Singapore Youth Festival Opening Ceremony, and the finals of the 2004 Tiger Cup. The National Stadium was also the venue for the National Day Parade 18 times (in 1976, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996 to 1999, 2001 to 2004, and 2006).

Since the stadium opened in 1973, the Singapore national football team played its home matches there. The stadium also hosted the final of the Singapore Cup since 1996. Additionally, the stadium was the home of the Singapore Lions that participated in domestic football in Malaysia.

Facilities

The National Stadium had an eight-lane running track and football field in addition to other miscellaneous facilities such as table tennis tables, a weights room and an auditorium, housed underneath the spectator stands.

While the facilities were often used for high-profile sporting events, they could also be used by members of the public and other local organizations for a nominal fee. For example, when not otherwise used, the running track could be used by joggers for S$0.50 per entry.[1]

The headquarters of the Singapore Sports Council used to be located at 15 Stadium Road.

The preview show of the National Day Parade held at the National Stadium in 2003

History

Conceptualisation

One of the final football games played at Kallang, June 2007

Soon after the end of the Second World War, as Singapore moved towards self-government and independence, the clamour began for a national stadium.

Preliminary studies of possible sites began in the 1950s. Kallang Park was selected because of existing sport facilities in the immediate vicinity. In August 1965, preliminary work on the design of the Stadium began. By the end of 1965, considerable progress having been made to shelter people, educate the young and to find jobs for the swelling population, Minister Othman Wok announced the Government's intention to proceed with the construction of a national stadium of Olympic standards at Kallang, as the first phase of the National Sports Complex. The Minister told Parliament that the National Stadium would give a tremendous boost to the promotion of sports in Singapore and would help improve the Republic's image in international sports.

Funding

A state-owned lottery company, Singapore Pools, was set up in 1968 to raise funds for the stadium. Proceeds from the Singapore Sweep and TOTO were used to pay a substantial part of the construction bill. Between 1968 and 1976, the company contributed S$14.5 million towards the project. Singapore Pools also helped the stadium repay a government loan of $7.8 million meant as start-up money for a stadium management corporation.[2] Following the completion of the National Stadium, Singapore Pools remained a major sponsor of stadium, as well as the National Day Parade.

Construction

On 7 December 1966, in the year that Singapore celebrated its first National Day, Othman drove the first pile into the ground. For the next three and a half years, piling was done to lay the foundations. Work had to be delayed due to bad weather for about a month. By the end of 1970, the stadium was three-quarters completed and was starting to take its definitive shape. Thirty-six steps, each 76 metres (249 ft) wide, formed an impressive entrance; and a cauldron was built within the stadium to carry a flame that would burn on special events and on the opening of the stadium. By the end of June 1973 when the stadium was completed, 300,000 bags of cement, 3,000,000 bricks and 4,500 tons of steel and timber had been used. The new stadium was opened to the public for the first time on 19 July 1973.

Redevelopment

Plans were made to demolish the stadium and build a multipurpose, 35.6 hectares (88 acres) Singapore Sports Hub in its place.[3] Demolition works began in the second half of 2007, and the new Sports Hub was eventually completed in 2014.[4] Three finalist consortia submitted redevelopment plans.[5]

The 2007 ASEAN Football Championship was the last major event held at the National Stadium before its redevelopment.

Closure

On 30 June 2007, a closing ceremony titled Field of Dreams – A Tribute to the National Stadium was held at the stadium.[6] 45,000 people attended the event, together with President S R Nathan, members of the Cabinet and Singapore athletes, past and present.[7] Before the ceremony, a football match featuring ex-internationals from Singapore and Malaysia like Quah Kim Song, Terry Pathmanathan, Samat Allapitchay, V. Sundramoorthy, David Lee, Dollah Kassim, Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh, Chow Siew Wai and K. Gunalan was played.[8]

The match was followed by the highlight of the evening, an international friendly between ASEAN champions Singapore and the Asian Cup bound Australian team, the Socceroos. The Australians won 3-0 with goals scored by English Premier League players Mark Viduka (50, 86 mins) and Harry Kewell (75 min).[9]

This was not the last football match to be played in the stadium as it was subsequently used for 11 football matches. The very last goal scored at the stadium was scored by Gholamreza Rezaei of Iran in a 1-3 loss for the hosts against the Iranian national team in an Asian Cup qualifying match on 6 January 2010.

The closing ceremony held at the National Stadium on 30 June 2007
A montage of National Stadium, towards the eastern entrance (top) and the western entrance (bottom).

Post closure

In February 2013, uniquely designed benches made from the wooden planks from the former National Stadium were presented to the public, as a meaningful way to commemorate this historic landmark. These designs were part of the bench project organized by local creative practice FARM, and jointly presented by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Singapore Furniture Industries Council. Five of the designs were winning entries of the design competition which invited the public to submit designs for benches using the seating planks from the former National Stadium. The rest of the designs were specially created by commissioned local designers from various design fields.

The benches can now be found in various public spaces such as Singapore River, Marina Bay, Gillman Barracks, Esplanade, Gardens by the Bay and the URA Centre.

Timeline

The stadium's 44-year history is as follows:[10]

The National Stadium appears in the movie, Kallang Roar (2008), directed by Cheng Ding An, and also in a key scene in the award-winning short film, Keluar Baris (2008) by Boo Junfeng.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Singapore Sports Council - National Stadium Facilities.
  2. ↑ Singapore Pools, The Beginning of the National Stadium.
  3. ↑ Singapore Sports Council, News on the redevelopment of the National Stadium
  4. ↑ Patwant Singh (29 March 2007). "Consortium reveals horseshoe-shaped iconic design for Sports Hub". Channel NewsAsia.
  5. ↑ Satish Cheney (28 March 2007). "All 3 proposals for new Sports Hub 'truly spectacular': Vivian Balakrishnan". Channel NewsAsia.
  6. ↑ "A tribute to the Old Lady of Kallang", The Straits Times, 31 May 2007
  7. ↑ Marc Lim, "Sun sets on the Grand Old Lady", The Sunday Times, 1 July 2007
  8. ↑ Terrence Voon, "Old foes' nostalgic farewell to their field of dreams", The Sunday Times, 1 July 2007
  9. ↑ Leonard Lim, "Thanks for a great match, mate", The Sunday Times, 1 July 2007
  10. ↑ "Stadium memories: 1973-2007", The Straits Times, 30 June 2007
  11. ↑ Dangerous Tour
  12. ↑ HIStory Tour
Preceded by
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium
Kuwait Kuwait City		 AFC Asian Cup
Final Venue
1984 		Succeeded by
Al-Ahly Stadium
Qatar Doha

Coordinates: 1°18′15.4″N 103°52′28.6″E / 1.304278°N 103.874611°E / 1.304278; 103.874611

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