THE Kallang Alive precinct is poised for an exciting addition with the construction of a new indoor arena that will replace the Singapore Indoor Stadium, which has stood for over three decades.

The plan for a new facility was unveiled by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong during the parliamentary debate on his ministry’s budget on Thursday (Mar 7).

Noting that it will be among the “best-in-class globally”, the arena will be built adjacent to the current Singapore Indoor Stadium site, he said.

The current 12,000-seater indoor stadium will continue to operate until the new indoor arena is ready. This will minimise disruption to the pipeline of events and programming, which can continue throughout the construction period of the new arena.

As planning is in the early stages, there is currently no timeline for when construction will begin. More details, including the fate of the indoor stadium, will be shared later, said Tong.

He pointed out that the new arena should have at least the same capacity as the Singapore Indoor Stadium and be “future-proofed”. “The hosting of high-quality international events is valuable, and also highly sought after. Our competitors are not standing still, and we, likewise, must continue to innovate and evolve if we want to continue to attract top-tier events.”

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“We believe that it is now an opportune time to develop a new indoor arena that will be among the best-in-class globally. We have gone around to study some of the best arenas in the world, to learn from them,” said Tong.

The government, he added, is considering an arena that can host more sophisticated events, can flexibly accommodate different types of events and have a faster turnaround time, as well as offer greater value to spectators with more varied hospitality suites, better seating and overall experience.

Designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, the S$90 million indoor stadium was officially opened in December 1989 by then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

The 54,178-square-metre indoor stadium has hosted a wide variety of entertainment and sports events over the years, including the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (2010), the WTA Finals tennis championship (2014 to 2018), and the Singapore Open (badminton).

On the entertainment front, the likes of Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Britney Spears have all performed there. More recently, the king of mandopop, Jacky Cheung, held a record 11 shows last July and August.

Separately, it was also announced in Parliament that a new S$165 million Major Sports Event Fund will be set aside over four years. This new fund will allow for more sporting events to be held here and continue to position Singapore as a major sporting destination.

In addition, S$20 million will be set aside for the One Team Singapore Fund (OTSF). The OTSF – a dollar-for-dollar matching grant by the government that aims to encourage corporations and the public to support national athletes through donations – will be extended for another year till 2027.

The OTSF will be expanded to support the Athletes’ Inspire Fund, launched in 2021 to support promising athletes who represent Singapore in emerging sports and are not receiving support from a National Sports Association funded directly by Sport Singapore.

The OTSF will also be expanded to provide government dollar-for-dollar matching for donations to SportCares, the philanthropic arm of Sport Singapore. THE STRAITS TIMES