The Government has now made it clear about their apprehension regarding the spate of incidents involving the notoriously unsatisfactory conditions of the National Stadium’s pitch, and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong addressed those concerns yesterday in Parliament.
Answering to enquiries on what steps are being taking to prevent further embarassing episodes at the new National Stadium (including cancellation of international events, criticism by punters, among other things), Wong mentioned that the Singapore Sports Hub had misjudged the impact that the intensive events calendar would have on the pitch, and that the hybrid grass pitch was not working out as planned — partly due to the fact that the grass was not anchored deeply enough.
“As a result, the repeated use and covering of the pitch ended up damaging it,” he says.
He added that Sports Hub Pte Ltd recognises the poor condition of the pitch and has stepped forward to take responsibility in regards to the negative publicity. They are already bearing the costs arising from the cancellation of events such as the anticipated rugby match between Asia Pacific Dragons and Maori All Blacks and the postponement of Jay Chou’s concert.
Various measures have already been put in place to enhance the growth of the grass, and experts have been consulted to re-examine the models for the use of the pitch.
He concludes that SportSG will continue to monitor the situation and answer that Sports Hub Pte Ltd does everything necessary to establish a world class pitch for the National Stadium.
Photo: Singapore Sports Hub Facebook page
Reader Interactions