New 18,000-capacity indoor arena to be built in Kallang, S’pore Sports School to move there

New indoor arena in Kallang will have bigger capacity than S’pore Indoor Stadium

While Singapore has hosted a number of sports, lifestyle and entertainment events, we can still “unlock the full potential” of the Sports Hub, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Thus, the Government is embarking upon a Kallang Alive Masterplan that includes building a new 18,000-capacity indoor arena.

We can make Kallang area ‘more alive’: PM

In his National Day Rally (NDR) speech on Sunday (18 Aug), PM Wong noted that the Government had taken over full ownership and management of the Sports Hub since 2022.

Now that it has done so, it can “make the whole Kallang area more alive”, he said after showing a photo of the Taylor Swift concert to laughter from the audience.

He then proceeded to share some ideas from the Kallang Alive Masterplan.

New indoor arena in Kallang

On the new indoor arena, Mr Wong said its capacity of 18,000 is bigger than the current Singapore Indoor Stadium, which can hold 12,000.

The indoor stadium, which is 35 years old, “no longer meets the requirements of today’s sporting and entertainment events”, he added.

The new arena will be able to host more top-tier events, with Singapore athletes able to compete on home ground.

This will also allow Singaporeans will have more opportunities to cheer them on, the PM said.

New indoor arena in Kallang may be next to Indoor Stadium

In March, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said that the new arena was envisioned to “host more sophisticated events” and “have a faster turnaround time between different types of events”.

He also expressed hopes it would be one of the “best-in-class” worldwide.

While the fate of the current Singapore Indoor Stadium was yet to be confirmed, he was quoted as saying that the plan was to build the new arena next to the current location.

An artist’s impression of the proposed Kallang area shared on Sunday put the new arena next to the Indoor Stadium.

S’pore Sports School moving to Kallang

Another major change to the Kallang area is that the Singapore Sports School will move there.

Currently based in Woodlands, the school’s move to Kallang will mean that our student-athletes can study and train together with the senior athletes, Mr Wong said.

This will be done in tandem with the bringing together of the national training centres for several key sports, now spread out all over the island.

Co-locating them under one roof will result in “better synergies”, the PM added.

Additionally, better facilities for our Team Singapore athletes, including new sports science and sports medicine facilities, will be built at this location.

The complex will then be known as the “new home for Team Singapore”, he stated.

Sporting activities for all S’poreans to enjoy

Lastly, the main road that runs through the Sports Hub will be converted into a pedestrianised community boulevard, Mr Wong said.

They will make the “entire area come alive” with sporting facilities and programmes for all Singaporeans to enjoy sports without needing to be an elite athlete.

The PM said Kallang will become a new lifestyle destination for sports and entertainment, adding,

Whatever your level, so long as you have an interest in sports, there will be something for you here.

PM shows appreciation to Team Singapore athletes

Mr Wong also took a moment to show his appreciation for Singapore’s athletes at the Olympics, saying he’s proud of all of them.

Of course, he mentioned bronze medallist Max Maeder, who was in the audience.

But he also gave a shoutout to other Olympians like Shanti Pereira, Loh Kean Yew, Gan Ching Hwee and Stephenie Chen and invited the athletes in attendance to stand so the audience could clap for them.

He wished our Paralympians all the very best for the Games, saying he’s glad that more young Singaporeans with talent are taking sports seriously and excelling, adding,

We will do more to strengthen the sporting culture in Singapore.

Also read: New arena to be built in Kallang, fate of S’pore Indoor Stadium undecided

New arena to be built in Kallang, fate of S’pore Indoor Stadium undecided

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Featured image adapted from Edwin Tong on Facebook.