Football at the Padang?

SINGAPORE -Imagine Singapore Under-23 winger Faris Ramli waltzing past opponents, as the majestic Old Supreme Court Building and City skyline loom in the background.

If all goes to plan, that vision could become a reality next June, when Singapore hosts the South-east Asia (SEA) Games.

At the sidelines of a media briefing on the various operational and planning milestones ahead of next year's biennial Games, Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) exco chairman Lim Teck Yin told The New Paper that the iconic Padang or the Marina Bay Floating Platform could host some of the competition's football matches.

THIRD VENUE

Previously, it was known that the Sports Hub and Bishan Stadium would host football matches, but SINGSOC is looking for a third venue.

"For football, we have one national stadium so we need to look for two other venues," said Lim.

"Bishan Stadium is confirmed. The other one is a toss-up between the Padang and the Floating Platform.

"If I can't make it work at these two places, we'll go to Choa Chu Kang Stadium. But I'm trying to make it work."

Lim explained that both the Padang and Floating Platform have restrictions.

The Padang will also be the venue of the National Day Parade (NDP) next August, while the pitch at the Floating Platform is artificial and would need to be re-laid with grass before it is suitable to host SEA Games football matches.

Lim said: "The issue for us (at the Padang) is de-conflicting with the needs of the NDP. If it doesn't happen at the Padang, we are studying the Floating Platform (but) the challenge for us there is bringing in a full-sized (natural) pitch.

"In order for us to put a natural pitch onto the platform, we must make sure there won't be any (fertiliser) run-off into the water when it rains, for example.

"But we're looking at that and we're hoping to be able to achieve it."

LionsXII star Faris said: "As hosts, I do hope we get to play all our games at the Sports Hub.

"But if we have to play some of our games at the Padang, it would be an experience to treasure for us players and we'd be honoured to play on the same ground that the NDP is held."

The preference for the Padang or Floating Platform, which are both located in the City, is in tandem with SINGSOC's Village-in-the-City concept (see sidebar).

Lim, who is also the chief executive of Sport Singapore, said that the eventual chosen facilities will be refurbished.

The pitch at Bishan, for example, will be completely re-turfed, and there are also plans to increase the venue's 4,200 capacity.

BUDGET

Despite the potential costs of refurbishing facilities such as those at the football venues, Lim said he was confident the budget would not surpass that of the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which ballooned from $104 million to $387 million.

While he was still not prepared to announce the SEA Games' budget, he noted that there is a "lot more leeway in terms of certain overlays" than the YOG.

"We are very keen to make sure we run a cost-effective Games," said Lim.

"We spend money on the essentials when we need to."

He added that the final budget would "clarify itself" towards the end of this year, by which time major tenders for areas such as accommodation, transportation, medical and security services, would have been awarded to vendors.

He also said that SINGSOC was "about halfway" to their target of securing $50 million in both cash and value-in-kind sponsorship for the SEA Games, and reiterated his call for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to come on board for the event, which coincides with celebrations of Singapore's 50th year of independence.

Said Lim: "We've created a donation scheme in case they feel they don't have enough resources to contribute as part of the overall sponsorship framework.

"No amount is too small. The whole idea is we want to give (SMEs) a platform to contribute."

In 1993, we got 50 gold medals. I can't imagine getting less. - SINGSOC exco chairman Lim Teck Yin, when asked about a medal target for Team Singapore at next year's SEA Games

This article was published on April 15 in The New Paper.

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