SINGAPORE, March 7 — The 34-year-old Singapore Indoor Stadium will be replaced by a new indoor arena as part of plans to transform the Kallang Alive precinct around the Singapore Sports Hub, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong today.

The current 12,000-seater indoor stadium will continue to operate until the new arena is completed, added Tong, who was speaking during a debate on his ministry’s budget.

This will ensure minimal disruption to the pipeline of events and programmes during the period when the new indoor arena is being built, likely at a site adjacent to the current indoor stadium site, he said.

Tong also announced a new S$165 million (RM581 million) Major Sports Event Fund that will be set aside to attract more world class sporting events to Singapore.

The plans for the new indoor arena are currently in its early stages and a more detailed update will be provided in due course, said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) in a statement.

The future plans of the existing indoor stadium are also being studied.

Tong said that the new indoor arena should at least have the same capacity as the current indoor stadium, and will be "future-proofed” so that it can continue to serve Singapore’s interests in future.

Tong added that the Government has been studying the best arenas in the world to learn from them.

He said that the Government is considering a new arena that can host more sophisticated and different types of events, has a faster turnaround time between events and has more varied hospitality suites and seating.

Plans to revitalise the Kallang Alive precinct were given a boost after the Government announced its takeover of the Sports Hub.

The proposal for a new indoor arena was briefly mentioned in a June 2022 fact sheet of the Kallang Alive precinct alongside the announcement of the takeover.

Back then, a multi-purpose indoor arena capable of hosting e-sports, sporting and entertainment events was mooted as part of the Kallang Theatre Integrated Development.

There was no mention of this arena potentially replacing the current indoor stadium, which was still present in an artist’s impression of the precinct in 2030.

MCCY said in its statement that since the Singapore Indoor Stadium was opened on Dec 31, 1989, countries around the region have built or are building indoor arenas that can hold even more sophisticated events and offer greater "value propositions” for spectators such as more varied hospitality suites.

"Our competitors are not standing still, and we, likewise, must continually innovate and evolve if we want to continue to attract top-tier events,” said Tong.

The new arena will be "among the best-in-class globally”, the ministry added. It will help the Kallang Alive precinct in hosting international events, hold community, grassroots and school sports events, and be a place for "sports innovation”, among other aims.

The Singapore Indoor Stadium was built at a cost of S$90 million and was designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange.

It has hosted major events over the past 34 years, including South-east Asian Games tournaments and concerts by Coldplay and Taylor Swift. Most recently, it hosted Kpop band SHINee.

New fund for major sports events

Tong also announced a new S$165 million fund for major sports events.

The fund, called the Major Sports Event Fund, will be set aside for use over four years. There is currently no fund set aside to attract sport events into Singapore and any grant disbursed by the Government to do so is done on a case-by-case basis.

Responding to a separate question in Parliament on Tuesday about grants, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said that examples of sports events that were supported by government grants in the past year include the Olympic Esports Week, Singapore HSBC Rugby Sevens and the HSBC Women’s World Championship golf tournament.

MCCY said that the new fund will allow for more world-class sporting events to be hosted here, which will "further strengthen Singapore’s reputation as a choice destination for high-signature international sporting events”.

More world-class sports events will also boost economic growth here and bring benefits to local athletes, said Tong.

"For our Team Singapore athletes, hosting such events will mean more opportunities... to measure yourselves against the world’s best right here on our home ground,” he said.

"Singaporeans will get to watch more of the world’s best athletes in action, adding to an already vibrant sporting calendar.”

MCCY added that to tap the fund, event owners can reach out to Sport Singapore (SportSG), a statutory board under MCCY, with event proposals.

"Based on discussions with the respective event owners and stakeholders, SportSG will assess the merits of bringing in specific sporting events to Singapore and the amount of funding support that SportSG will contribute to those events,” said MCCY. — TODAY