The Former Singapore Badminton Hall (

Abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

: SBH; ), formerly Singapore Badminton Stadium, is a former

indoor sports hall The following is a list of indoor arenas. Africa Asia Europe North America Canada United States Oceania South America See also *Arena *Stadium *Sport venue *Lists of stadiums *List of buildings This is a list of ...

for

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

located on Guillemard Road in

Geylang Geylang is a planning area and township located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore, bordering Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Marine Parade in the south, Bedok in the east, and Kallang in the west. Geylang is perha ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. The old facility was previously situated at 100 Guillemard Road. The hall's nearby building (102 Guillemard Road) was formerly the

headquarter Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

s of the

Singapore Badminton Association Singapore Badminton Association (abbreviation: SBA) is the national governing body for badminton in Singapore. It governs, encourages and develops the sport throughout the country. Founded in 1929, the SBA is an affiliate of the Singapore Nat ...

(SBA). Both buildings were refurnished in May 2009 as the commercial centre Guillemard Village. The current Singapore Badminton Hall is located at 1 Lorong 23 Geylang.

History

Construction

The original Singapore Badminton Stadium was built in 1952 for the Thomas Cup Tournament. The first tournament was held in the UK in 1949, and the Malayan team won the championship. As a result, Malaya also won the right to host the next Thomas Cup, that was scheduled for 1952. As there was no suitable indoor sports hall in Malaya then, the

(SBA) decided to build one in Singapore. A

fund Fund may refer to: * Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money, or other values such as effort or time, for a project, a person, a business, or any other private or public institution ** The process of soliciting and gathe ...

to build the badminton hall was launched, after a

ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

welcoming the victorious Thomas Cup team at the

Victoria Memorial Hall The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall is a performing arts centre in the Central Area of Singapore, situated along Empress Place. It is a complex of two buildings and a clock tower joined together by a common corridor; the oldest part of the ...

. In February 1951, SBA requested from the

Singapore Government The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise o ...

a plot of land at Guillemard Road to build the badminton

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

. SBA was granted a 99-year

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

on the land, effectively from 1 July the same year, and proceeded to construct the sports hall. The estimated

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

cost for the hall was S$200,000 to S$250,000 but the eventual cost rose to S$800,000.

Donation A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as blo ...

s then totalled only S$32,000.

Aw Boon Haw Aw Boon-Haw (; 1882 in Rangoon, British Raj – 1954 in Hawaii), OBE, was a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as founder of Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin, with his ancestral home in Yongding County ...

, who was a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the SBA, gave a

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

of S$250,000. Despite this, funds were still short by over S$400,000. Nevertheless, the Badminton Hall Management Committee, headed by Tan Ark Sye, pressed ahead with the construction of the hall. The main

contractor A contractor is a person or company that performs work on a contract basis. The term may refer to: Business roles * Defense contractor, arms industry which provides weapons or military goods to a government * General contractor, an individual o ...

was C. H. Tong. The Singapore Badminton Stadium was completed in May 1952. However, the SBA did not have sufficient funds to cover the total construction cost. Eventually, the hall was relinquished to the

Singapore Sports Council Sport Singapore (SportSG) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore. It is the lead agency tasked with developing a holistic sports culture for the nation. History Sport Singapore was ...

which took over its management in 1978.

Thomas Cup

Although it was completed in May 1952, the Singapore Badminton Stadium was not ready for the 2nd Thomas Cup Tournament that was scheduled on 27–28 May that year. The tournament was held at the Happy World Stadium, where the Malayan Team, which included

Wong Peng Soon Wong Peng Soon, (; 17 February 1917 – 22 May 1996) was a Malayan/Singaporean badminton player who reigned as a top player in Malaya from the 1930s to the 1950s when it was a single nation. Noted for his smooth but powerful strokes and gra ...

Ong Poh Lim Ong Poh Lim (; 18 November 1923 – 17 April 2003) was a Malayan/Singaporean badminton player who had won numerous national and international titles from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Known for his quickness and his aggressive, unorthodox ...

and Ismail Marjan, successfully defended their title. On 7 June 1952, the Singapore Badminton Stadium was officially opened by the

Governor of Singapore The Governors of Singapore were the political leaders of Singapore during its pre-independence phase in the history of Singapore. Residents of Singapore (1819–1826) The Resident of Singapore ruled the British colony that is today the Republi ...

, Sir

John Fearns Nicoll Sir John Fearns Nicoll (26 April 1899 – 12 January 1981) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Singapore from 1952 to 1955. Early years and colonial service Nicoll was born in 1899 and attended Carlisle Grammar Sch ...

. In 1955, the 3rd Thomas Cup Tournament was held at the Singapore Badminton Hall for the first time. The Malayan Team won its 3rd consecutive title. The 4th Thomas Cup Tournament was also held at the badminton hall in June 1958 but the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n team won this time.

Political events

In June 1959, a crowd of nearly 7,000 workers from 63

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s gathered at the Singapore Badminton Stadium to celebrate the advent of the new government after the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, which was won by the

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

. On 1 September 1962, the Singapore Badminton Stadium was the

vote counting Vote counting is the process of counting votes in an election. It can be done manually or by machines. In the United States, the compilation of election returns and validation of the outcome that forms the basis of the official results is call ...

station for a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

's suggestion to

merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

Singapore,

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

and the

Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...

to form

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. About 71 percent of the

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district An ...

voted for the merger proposal. At 11.15am on 3 September, Prime Minister

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

speaks of 'the clear and decisive verdict' of the people of Singapore for merger with Malaysia, and 'the awful moment of truth' for the Communists. This speech came immediately after the announcement of the Government's victory over the Barisan Socialis-led call to cast blank votes in the referendum. (See: Singaporean national referendum, 1962)

Concerts

On 7 December 1959, the Singapore Badminton Stadium was the venue of Radio Singapore's all-

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

, ''Puspawarna Singapura'', which was hosted by

P. Ramlee Tan Sri Datuk Amar Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh (later Ramlee bin Puteh) (22 March 1929 – 29 May 1973), better known by his stage name P. Ramlee (Puteh Ramlee), was a Malaysian actor, filmmaker, musician, and composer famous in both m ...

. In February 1965, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rock group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

held a one-night

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

at the Singapore Badminton Stadium. The crowd was so excited that a

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

erected for the

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

collapsed.

Southeast Asian Games

On 1 February 1978, the Singapore Sports Council took over the management of the Singapore Badminton Stadium after acquiring a 30-year lease from the Lands Office (now the

Singapore Land Authority The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Law of the Government of Singapore. SLA optimises land resources for Singapore's social and economic development. History The SLA was formed on 1 June 2001 when th ...

). The hall was then renovated and renamed as the Singapore Badminton Hall and served as the venue for badminton in the

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

and 17th

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

, hosted by Singapore in 1983 and 1993 respectively.

Chronicles (1930s – 2013)

Badminton sports for Singapore (since 1930s) This recreational sport was first introduced to Singapore during the time of the British Colony. The game, at the beginning, was essentially played within the circle of the affluent British residents in Singapore. Then in the 1930s, the badminton sport gained its popularity among the local population but mainly the upper social class such as the white collar workforce, the social elites from English speaking background. Students from Chinese education played it as well, but badminton might seem to be less widespread for the Chinese-educated who were usually less wealthy as compared to the English-educated. Nonetheless, the sport's wide acceptance certainly had to do with the ease at which how the preparation of the game was made—a minimum of only two players are needed and the court can be anywhere where the ground is flat and the place without wind The increasing passion for the sports had led to many badminton clubs formed among the local players be it professional or amateur. This was when the

(SBA) was founded in 1929. The association, supported by patrons such as

Tan Chin Tuan Tan Chin Tuan (; 21 November 1908 – 13 November 2005) was a Peranakan banker and philanthropist often credited with helping to establish the OCBC Bank. Biography Early life Born in 1908, he was the son of prominent Hokkien businessman, Ta ...

(director of the OCBC bank) and

Song Ong Siang Sir Song Ong Siang () was a lawyer and active citizen of the British Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements. He was an ethnic Hokkien as well as a third generation Hokkien Peranakan Baba (Peranakan term for ''man'') Chinese with ancestry from ...

(an influential figure of the

Straits Chinese The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, th ...

community), aimed to encourage the game and to select the excellent players from various clubs by organising games among the clubs, so as to produce local athletes to participate in the renowned tournaments among the international community. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, despite of the negative impact on the badminton fever due to the war, local badminton players started to shine in the international stage where the Malayan team won their first championship in the

Thomas Cup The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...

in 1949. Construction of The Singapore Badminton Stadium (1949–1952) The winning in 1949 allowed Malaya, particularly the SBA (a sub-association of Malayan Badminton Association, to hold the next

Championship at its place since the winners were from Singapore. However, the sports halls available at that time were considered unsuitable for hosting any international tournaments. The President of SBA at that time, Lim Chuan Geok, thus made call for constructing new badminton hall. The construction cost was planned to be funded through public fundraising. The fundraising was later found to be challenging when the government revealed its plan to construct another stadium at the same time, misleading many to think that the new badminton hall was thus replaced. The diminishing amount of public donations together with the increasing cost of construction hindered the progress of the whole project. A sponsor of SBA,

(founder of "Tiger Balm"), donated a huge sum of money to finance the project. The deficit was ultimately absorbed by the building contractor of the hall, C. H. Tong. However, SBA was rendered in debt by the project. The entire construction was finished in 1952. The Stadium was built to accommodate changing rooms, canteens, offices, 4 badminton courts and 5500 seats 1 Ironically, the hall dedicated for the Thomas Cup ended up not being used for the incoming Championship because it was thought to be a gamble to let the Malayan team to perform in a hall environment to which they might not become acclimatised yet. The Thomas Cup was held in

Happy World is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenjirō Takeshita. It was serialized in Shueisha's '' Ultra Jump''. The manga was adapted into an original video animation by KSS with animation work done by Zexcs. Plot Takeshi Ōmu ...

Stadium in 1952 instead. 1955 The hall had its first time hosting the

Championship which was also the third-time tournament. Again, the Malayan team succeeded in defending their champion title. 1958 The fourth

Championship was, too, held in the Singapore Badminton Stadium, but this time round, the Malayan team was defeated by Indonesian team. 1959-1960 The year 1959 saw mostly the non-sporting events taking place in the Stadium. The

(PAP) had made public speech to celebrate their victory in the general election. The Hall also served to hold entertainment activities such as dramas, dances and even erotic strip dance by the famous local "Strip Dancing Queen" Rose Chan. In addition, from 1959 to 1960, ''Puspawarna Singapura'', live recordings of variety shows were held by the Radio Singapore with

(famous Malaysian singer, producer, composer) as the main host. It could be seen that the usage of the sports hall was less strict and exclusive. It might be out of an urge for SBA to increase its source of income and to clear off its debt from the construction. 1962 In 1962, the Stadium was used as a counting station for the voting over matter of Malaya-Singapore merger where the People's Action Party had a clear-cut victory. The political significance of the Stadium was clear enough—the hall was a key connection spot between the ruling party and its supporters. On the other hand, during the times of trade union riots, the hall acted as a gathering spot for the unions. Such preference possibly reflected the existence of hall more than just a building but a essential space where political activities or social movements from the working class could be made widely known to the rest of the society. 1965 A British rock band,

, conducted their one-stop performance at the badminton stadium. The over-excited spectators resulted in the collapse of a wall. 1978 Due to SBA's inability to pay off the debt from construction, the Stadium as well as the remaining debt was taken over by the

. Upon acquiring the stadium, it was refurbished and renamed as the Singapore Badminton Hall. The Hall was assigned to be the one of the event venues for the

, which had its 12th (Year 1983) and 17th (Year 1993) games hosted in the Hall. 1983 12th Southeast Asian Game badminton tournament was hosted in the Hall. 1986 A

tenant Tenant may refer to: Real estate *Tenant, the holder of a leasehold estate in real estate *Tenant-in-chief, in feudal land law *Tenement (law), the holder of a legal interest in real estate *Tenant farmer *Anchor tenant, one of the larger stores ...

, the Fatty Weng

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

, was opened at the Singapore Badminton Hall in 1986. 1993 17th Southeast Asian Game badminton tournament was held. 1999 The Old Singapore Badminton Hall was declared a historical site by the National Heritage Board to acknowledge its historical significance in 2 major events—the 2 times hosting of Thomas Cup Champions and the vote-counting for 1962 Malaya-Singapore Merger Referendum. 2011 Onsight Climbing Gym, the biggest indoor climbing gym in Singapore occupied the Old Badminton Hall. 2012 GymKraft, the biggest gymnastics gym in Singapore occupied the Old Badminton Hall.

Architectural features

Style The Old Singapore Badminton Hall appeared to be heavily influenced by the concrete

brutalism Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

though quite a portion of its building was made of metal. The façade at the main entrance has huge sun-breakers as its aesthetic component. The brutalist style here is less prominent as opposed to the other modernist brutalist architectures because most of the Hall's façades have been covered by coloured paints to lighten the tone of the concrete. Form The form is a resultant geometry of a terraced pitched roof sitting on top of a rectangular mass. The design approach is relatively simple: a rectangular space accommodates all the programs and a roof to covers the upward opening, while the sun-breakers and openings are made on the façades to reduce heat and increase ventilation in the tropical climate. It could be evident that aesthetics was more or less a secondary consideration for the design and the methodology employed was very functionalistic. Roof The roof of the hall, like many others at its time, was made of zinc with metallic truss system supported below, imposing a sense of lightness to the overall outlook of the building and reducing its seemingly bulky existence. However, zinc material is considered a poor thermal mass and might adversely affect the indoor climate. That could be the reason why the SBA did not use the Hall for the 2nd Thomas Cup tournament. Structural Support The weight of the roof was spread out in 2 opposite directions and to the 2 facades, and hence it can be deduced that the main entrance façade and the back facade are the load-bearing walls. In the indoor space, the structural elements are the metal trusses as well as the metal frame pillars located at the 2 sides of the hall, freeing up the space in the center. Natural Lighting and Ventilation Most of the openings are positioned at the higher portion of the façades to accommodate natural light and wind into the indoor space without causing strong glares and letting the rains come in. Yet the design ventilation is likely to be ineffective as seemed from the installation of electric fans within the space. The Present and The Past (streetscape) The front entrance of the Hall used to be an ideal spot for gathering due to the vast open space and less traffic flow in the past. Along with the Hall's fame for hosting various major sports, political and entertainment events, it probably became highly sorted after when it comes to choosing a place to publicise other events. Moving on to the present day, the road space is no longer humanized due to the amount of traffic flow and the greenery space further reduces the size of open area for the Hall. The Hall is now less monumental than it once was.

Historical site

On 1 September 1999, the Singapore Badminton Hall was marked by the National Heritage Board as a historical site. This was in recognition of the two significant historical events that happened at the hall—it held two Thomas Cup tournaments and was the vote counting station for the landmark 1962 referendum. The ceremony was officiated by

Abdullah Tarmugi Abdullah bin Tarmugi ( Jawi: عبدالله بن ترموڬي; born 25 August 1944) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore between 2002 and 2011. Early life Born to a Javanese father and a Chines ...

, Minister for Community Development and Sports.

Redevelopment

The building's another

, the Fatty Weng

which was opened in 1986, moved to Smith Street in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

in March 2007 when the SBA was not able to commit to a long-term

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

. In July 2007, the Singapore Badminton Association announced plans to close the Singapore Badminton Hall, after the 30-year lease between the Singapore Sports Council and the

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. Mission The authority was established on 1 Apri ...

ceases on 31 January 2008. The SBA's lease is for the badminton hall and its adjacent building, which houses the association's

office An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...

and practice

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

s. Its current annual lease of under S$100,000 would be increased to S$1.164 million if the SBA were to renew it, but the association has no plans to do so. The SBA cited possible sites for its new temporary headquarters at the

Singapore Sports School Singapore Sports School (SSP) is a specialised independent boarding school and statutory board under the purview of Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore that offers an integrated sports and academic programme t ...

and

Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) (ACS(I)) is an independent Methodist secondary school in Dover, Singapore. Founded in 1886 by Reverend William Fitzjames Oldham, it was recognised as an International Baccalaureate World School in 2005, and ha ...

. The SBA will eventually be relocated to the

Singapore Sports Hub The Singapore Sports Hub (Chinese: 新加坡体育城; Malay: Hab Sukan Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் விளையாட்டு மையம்) is a sports and recreation district in Kallang, Singapore. The Sports H ...

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

, due for completion in 2011. When the Singapore Badminton Hall closes, the building was returned to the URA. The site of the hall has been zoned for

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

s and

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

use under URA's Master Plan 2003. In January 2008, the SBA headquarters and Singapore Badminton Hall was officially closed down after the land lease contract ended and the Singapore Sports Council decided not to renew it given the rising price of the new lease. The Hall was then returned to the

(URA). In May 2009, after a S$2-million refurbishment, the former Singapore Badminton Association building and the former Singapore Badminton Hall started its operation as Guillemard Village under the development by the Turf City Management. The site was re-developed as a centre for food and beverage as well as leisure. The Hall was deliberately refurbished to give retain the essence of the past, hopefully reminding people of the Gay World. In November 2009, a 24-hour prawn fishing restaurant known as Geylang Prawn Fishing Restaurant was opened, which occupied half of the former sports hall. In August 2011, The restaurant was closed at the hall upon its lease ended and moved to Punggol East Golf Club. Currently as of 2013, the most well-known occupants of the Hall are the Brawn & Brains Cafe and the Onsight Climbing Gym. Nowadays, there are variou
badminton lessons
such as kids badminton lessons, adult badminton lessons, conducted in the new Singapore badminton hall which play an important role to keep Singaporean healthy.

References

Other

External links

Singapore Government eCitizen websiteSingapore Badminton Association
{{Badminton in Singapore Sports venues completed in 1952 Indoor arenas in Singapore Badminton in Singapore Geylang Badminton venues 1952 establishments in Singapore 20th-century architecture in Singapore