National Stadium, Singapore
| Singapore Sports Hub | |
 | |
| Full name | National Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Kallang, Singapore |
| Coordinates | 1°18′2.5″N 103°52′27.2″E / 1.300694°N 103.874222°ECoordinates: 1°18′2.5″N 103°52′27.2″E / 1.300694°N 103.874222°E |
| Owner | Singapore Sports Hub Consortium |
| Operator | Dragages Singapore Pte. Ltd. |
| Capacity | 55,000 (Football/Rugby), 52,000 (Cricket), 50,000 (Athletics)[1] |
| Record attendance | 52,107 (Arsenal vs Everton, 18 July 2015)[2] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 29 September 2010 |
| Opened | 30 June 2014 |
| Construction cost | S$1.87 billion |
| Architect | Arup Associates (Sports venues), DP Architects (Non-sport venues, QP), AECOM (landscape) |
| Structural engineer | Arup |
| Tenants | |
|
Singapore national football team Singapore national cricket team 2015 Southeast Asian Games 2015 ASEAN Para Games Sunwolves | |
The National Stadium is a stadium replacing the old stadium in Kallang, Singapore. It opened on 30 June 2014.
Located in Kallang, Singapore, the National Stadium is a multi-purpose arena used mostly for football matches featuring a dome and retractable roof. It is the only stadium in the world custom designed to host football, rugby, cricket and athletics events. With a mechanised and automated retractable seating configurations on the lowest tier, the arena can also host concerts, cultural and other entertainment purposes at any time. It takes approximately 48 hours to reconfigure seating arrangements to suit an upcoming event. The stadium has a maximum seating capacity of 55,000 for football and rugby, 52,000 for cricket and 50,000 spectators for athletics events.[3]
The arena is located at the site of the former National Stadium, which was closed in 2007 and demolished in 2010. The stadium is a part of the new multi-purpose Singapore Sports Hub complex which comprises the OCBC Aquatic Centre, the multi-purpose OCBC Arena, the Singapore Sports Museum, the Sports Hub library, the Kallang Wave shopping mall and the current Singapore Indoor Stadium, as well as a Water Sports Centre at the adjacent Kallang Basin. The Singapore national football team makes a return home to the National Stadium for the first time since the demolition of the old stadium in 2010, after spending 4 years at the Jalan Besar Stadium and will play future international matches there and hosting the National Day Parade in 2016.
It is also, since September 2015, the final stop for the Graduation and Passing Out Parades of the Basic Military Training Centre of the Singapore Armed Forces, given the rising numbers of Singaporeans interested in the BMTC. The area for the parade alternates between it and The Float at Marina Bay, where it has been held since 2010.
History
Construction
Construction work for the sports hub started in 2010 due to the delays caused by the 2008 financial crisis and soaring construction costs. By September 2011, the pilling and the foundation of the stadium was completed and construction on the steelwork of the stadium fixed roof started. On July 2013, the installation of the stadium final primary steel 'runway truss' for the roof was completed marking the completion of the steelwork on the National Stadium's fixed roof in preparation for installation of the retractable roof.[4][5] The stadium was set to be completed in April 2014, however, In February 2014, Sports Hub CEO Philippe Collin Delavaud announced that the National Stadium's completion was pushed back to June 2014.[6]
Stadium specifics and features
Spectator seating
The stadium has configurable spectator tiers depending on the event being hosted, namely "Football/Rugby mode", "Cricket mode" and "Athletics mode". To configure from athletics mode to football/rugby mode, the lowest spectator tier can be moved 12.5m forward, hiding the athletics running track underneath the seats and bringing spectators close to the pitch to provide optimum spectator viewing distances.[8][9] An energy efficient cooling system is also designed to deliver cooled air to every seat in the stadium while using less than 15 per cent of energy as compared to a conventional air-conditioned stadium, providing every spectator a cool and comfortable time to enjoy an event.
Dome and retractable roof
The National Stadium currently holds the record of the largest dome structure in the world.[10] The retractable roof itself will take an approximate 25 minutes to open or close. The roof is made out of a lightweight material called ETFE, which is weather-resistant and blocks the sun's heat giving shade and protecting spectators from the hot and humid Singapore weather during the day and potential torrential rain at any point of time.[11] At night, the retractable roof doubles as a giant projector screen on both sides, which can display images such as the Singapore Flag during the National Day Parade.[12]
Stadium pitch
Desso GrassMaster was installed as the original grass pitch when the stadium opened.[13] The sandy pitch was criticised by Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri during a pre-season friendly there in August 2014 and resulted in his decision not to field Carlos Tevez due to injury concerns.[14] Afterwards, S$1.5 million of special growth lights were installed to stimulate and speed up the growth of the grass, with one of the main concerns being getting the pitch ready for the 2014 Suzuki Cup at the end of the year. In October 2014, Brazil coach Dunga criticised the state of the pitch, which had not improved much since the Juventus match, when his side were in Singapore to play a friendly against Japan. Although Brazil won the match 4–0, he said after the match that the sandy pitch had prevented his side from playing their best football.[15] Eventually, the grass still failed to grow well and was replaced by the Eclipse Stabilised Turf in May 2015.[16]
Transport
Mass Rapid Transit
The stadium is located next to Stadium MRT Station on the Circle Line. Trains arrive every five to six minutes during off-peak hours, and two to three minutes during peak hours and event days. Other MRT stations nearby are Kallang MRT Station which can be accessed using a sheltered walkway, and Mountbatten MRT Station. Both of these stations are within 600 metres (2,000 ft) of the stadium.
Buses and taxis
Bus stops are located around the Sports Hub complex along Stadium Walk, Stadium Boulevard and Nicoll Highway, with buses serving nearby districts and the city. Taxi stands are also conveniently available near the National Stadium, Singapore Indoor Stadium and Leisure Park Kallang.
Events
The National Stadium hosted the opening ceremony and other events during the 2015 Southeast Asian Games. Other sports events included the World Club 10s Rugby in June 2014, a friendly match between Juventus and a Singapore Selection side in August 2014, which was the first-ever football match at the new stadium. The friendly match between Brazil and Japan in October 2014 is the first-ever sell-out crowd of 55,000 at the stadium. It also hosted the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup in November 2014. It is the venue of all the matches of the 2015 Barclays Asia Trophy that is held in Singapore. The stadium will be the venue for the 2016 National Day Parade.
American singer Mariah Carey performed the first ever concert at the stadium on 24 October 2014. Celine Dion was scheduled to perform at the stadium on 25 November 2014, but the concert was later postponed until 2015.[17] On 11 March 2015, the English-Irish boy band One Direction performed their first show at the stadium in front of 29,419 fans.[18] From June 2014 onwards, the stadium will also host cricket with day-night One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals matches. There is a prospect of international cricket fixtures and is the possibility of the International Cricket Council moving its headquarters from Dubai to Singapore. Global superstar Madonna is set to perform at the stadium as part of her Rebel Heart Tour in early 2016.[19]
Concerts
Concerts
| Year | Date | Nationality of Artist | Name of Artist | Name of Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 24 October |  United States |
Mariah Carey | The Elusive Chanteuse Show |
| 2015 | 11 March | United Kingdom | One Direction | On The Road Again Tour |
| 2016 | 9 January | Taiwan | A-mei | |
| 28 February | United States | Madonna | Rebel Heart Tour | |
| 3 September | Taiwan | Jay Chou | The Invincible Concert Tour 2016 | |
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.worldofstadiums.com/asia/singapore/national-stadium/
- ↑ "Gunners a class apart". The Sunday Times. 19 July 2015. pp. A29.
- ↑ "Construction commences on Singapore Sports Hub". Arup. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ "Singapore's National Stadium fixed roof steelwork complete". Arup. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ "Foundation laid for new National Stadium". Red Sports. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ "National Stadium to miss April opening". Channel News Asia. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ↑ "Singapore's new National Stadium sells out Japan-Brazil clash". Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ↑ "World Class Facilities". Singapore Sports Hub. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ "Positive moves in boosting popularity of cricket". Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- ↑ "Singapore Sports Hub". Arup. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ "World's largest dome roof taking shape in Singapore". Gizmag. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ "Singapore's new National Stadium to have world's largest dome". The Jakarta Post. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ "Sports Hub to use Desso GrassMaster for its National Stadium pitch". Channel NewsAsia. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ↑ "National Stadium pitch under fire". TODAYonline. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ↑ "Controversy over condition of National Stadium pitch rumbles on". Goal.com. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ↑ "Singapore Sports Hub unveils new National Stadium pitch ahead of SEA Games". Channel NewsAsia. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ↑ "Mariah Carey To Perform in Singapore on October 24 at the National Stadium". Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ↑ "Billboard Boxscore : Current Scores". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1 April 2015. Archived from the original on 1 April 2015.
- ↑ "SINGAPORE'S SPORTS HUB IMPRESSES". Retrieved 29 August 2013.
External links
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