Toa Payoh Stadium can expand beyond 10,000 seats if needed

The new Toa Payoh Stadium will become the second-largest football facility in Singapore after it is completed by 2030. And if demand calls, an expansion beyond its 10,000-capacity is possible.

At present, the National Stadium at the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang is the largest with 55,000 seats, with Jalan Besar Stadium a distant second at 6,000.

But that could change in the future. In an interview with The Straits Times on Jan 16, Sport Singapore (SportSG) chief executive Alan Goh said that the stadium at the Toa Payoh Integrated Development will be built with the flexibility to expand its capacity later if required.

However, he stressed that it is too early to determine whether such an expansion will be necessary.

The 48-year-old said: “We do get government funding for the project and as much as we sports people would wish for more... when you spend taxpayers’ money, it’s about trying to make sure that it is well utilised.

“Have we seen situations where Jalan Besar is always sold out? It was certainly for the (Asean Championship) semi-finals. And when we have data to show that you do have the kind of demand that can fill a stadium, then you get more justifications to build a bigger one.”

Details of the Toa Payoh project were revealed during a ground-breaking ceremony on Jan 5, and among the sporting upgrades are a 2,000-seater aquatic centre with four indoor swimming pools, a 5,000-seat indoor hall, and sheltered futsal, tennis and netball courts.

But it is the 10,000-seater football stadium that has sparked discussions, with some observers asking about the feasibility of building a larger mid-tier stadium of 20,000 to 25,000 to serve as an alternative venue for major events.

The need for such a facility was highlighted during the Asean Championship semi-finals last December, when the match was moved to the Jalan Besar Stadium due to a late scheduling change that rendered the National Stadium unavailable.

Goh added: “Some quarters want a bigger one (stadium), but it’s a question of how often would that situation be? The prudent thing to do, which we have done, is build for 10,000 and hopefully we fill it up as often as we can, but we have built the development such that it allows for future growth.

“So when the time comes, and we really see another situation like we encountered, then we can make the arguments to try to increase the capacity.”

Sports facilities remain a hot topic in land-scarce Singapore, with various sports vying for dedicated spaces.

One of them is motor racing, with the $380 million Changi Motorsports Hub mooted over a decade ago, though those plans were eventually scrapped in 2013.

When asked if Singapore is still keen on such a hub, Goh did not rule it out, though he admitted that it would be “hard to find a suitable pocket of land”.

“But we keep that conversation alive. As long as there’s a land plot of sufficient size and the stars align for the number of things to come together, then we can go for that,” he added.

Other developments like the velodrome at the Kallang Alive precinct and Olympic-sized skating rink – the only such facility at JCube Mall was closed in August 2023 – are in discussion, said the sports chief. On the latter, he noted that SportSG is in talks with suitable partners to “find a suitable space”.

 

Before the interview, Goh, who started work at SportSG in April 2023, joined members of the press for a 3x3 basketball game at the OCBC Arena. After sinking several two-point shots, he later reflected on a bountiful season for Singapore sports in 2024.

Some of the year’s highlights for Goh included achievements of athletes like Maximilian Maeder, who won the kitefoiling bronze at the Paris Olympics in a phenomenal season where he also claimed the world, Asian and European titles.

He also noted SportSG’s slew of initiatives to support athletes and make sport a viable and attractive career path, such as the spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarship programme and the monthly CPF top-ups that spexScholars will enjoy from April.

Goh added: “We know we are on the right track when retired athletes ask us, ‘how come this was not available when I was young?’, and existing athletes who say ‘I actually thought of retirement, but this can help me push on for a couple more years’.”

 

While there have been successes, Goh also acknowledged that there are areas for improvement, particularly for sports that have underperformed. Some like karate, sepak takraw and tennis have not produced notable results or qualified representatives for the SEA and Asian Games in recent years.

Team sports such as football, despite being one of Singapore’s most popular sports, and basketball, have also lagged behind regional counterparts.

He said that SportSG will work closely with the respective national sports associations to improve.

He added: “It is not rocket science. A top athlete is only produced... when you have the correct talent, coaching, infrastructure, training and competition. When you’re missing one of these key ingredients, you aren’t quite able to break out and reach the very top.”

Reflecting on his tenure so far, he said: “What we’ve been able to achieve the last two years shows that sport is important to our society.

“I still think we are a very academic-biased society, and as long as we improve support for athletes, such that an athlete career is viable... that’s the room that we can improve a lot in today.”