National Stadium, Singapore

The Singapore National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kallang, Singapore. It serves as the country's national stadium. Opened in 2014, it was constructed on the site of the former National Stadium, which stood from 1973 to 2010. The 55,000-seat facility is the centrepiece of the Singapore Sports Hub, a sports and recreation district that also incorporates nearby Singapore Indoor Stadium and other sporting venues.

One of the largest domed structures in the world, it features a naturally-ventilated design with a retractable roof, and has configurations for football, rugby, athletics and cricket. The roof is made out of insulated metal to reflect sunlight. The stadium serves as the home stadium of the Singapore national football team, served as the main venue of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, and has hosted matches of the AFF Championship in 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2022. The stadium has also hosted non-sporting events, including concerts and religious gatherings.

History

In 2007, the Singapore government accepted bids for a project to build a new National Stadium and an accompanying sports and recreation district around the stadium (including an aquatics centre). Alpine Mayreder proposed a design inspired by Munich's Allianz Arena, Singapore Gold proposed a design known as "Premier Park" (which would have featured a retractable roof usable as a projection screen), while the Singapore Sports Hub Consortium (SSHC) proposed a design known as the "Cool Dome", a ventilated, horseshoe-inspired stadium with a retractable roof.

On 19 January 2008, the government named SSHC as its preferred bidder for the Sports Hub project and stadium, with construction slated to be completed by 2011. Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan stated that the SSHC proposal was the "strongest in offering a comprehensive sporting calendar", and "displayed significant strengths in programming, team culture and partnership, functionality and layout".

Construction of the stadium began in 2010 due to the delays caused by the 2008 financial crisis and soaring construction costs. By September 2011, the piling and the foundation of the stadium was completed and construction on the steelworks of the stadium fixed roof started. In July 2013, the installation of the stadium final primary steel 'runway truss' for the roof was completed marking the completion of the steelworks on the National Stadium's fixed roof in preparation for installation of the retractable roof. The stadium was set to be completed in April 2014. In February 2014, Sports Hub CEO Philippe Collin Delavaud announced that it would miss the deadline, and not open until June 2014.

The stadium's first sporting event was the inaugural World Club 10s rugby tens tournament in June 2014.

Design

The stadium features a , -tall steel dome with a retractable roof, which was stated to be the largest dome structure in the world. Due to Singapore's tropical climate, the stadium's roof is designed to reflect sunlight in order to insulate its interior, while natural airflow is used to cool spectator areas with less energy usage than a venue of comparable size.

The stadium has configurations for football, rugby, athletics, and cricket. In its football and rugby configuration, the lowest tier of seating can be moved closer to the pitch, covering the running track. It takes approximately 48 hours to reconfigure seating arrangements to suit an upcoming event.

Playing surface

The stadium initially used Desso GrassMaster—which consists of natural grass interwoven with synthetic fibres—as its playing surface. After experiencing issues with the pitch's quality (which culminated in the New Zealand All Blacks cancelling a rugby match at the stadium during a November 2014 tour due to safety concerns), in May 2015 the GrassMaster surface was replaced by Eclipse Stabilised Turf—a similar hybrid surface produced by Australian company HG Turf.

Singapore Sports Hub CEO Oon Jin Teik stated that the stadium's unique microclimate had posed additional challenges in maintaining the GrassMaster pitch.

Transport

Mass rapid transit

The stadium is located above the underground 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 on the East–West Line which can be accessed using a sheltered walkway and Tanjong Rhu MRT station on the Thomson–East Coast Line across the Tanjong Rhu Footbridge.

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.

Notable events

Sports

SEA Games

The stadium was one of the venues of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, and football.

Football

The first football match held at the stadium was a friendly between Singapore Selection XI and Juventus in August 2014. The friendly match between Brazil and Japan in October 2014 was the first sell-out crowd of 55,000 at the stadium. It also hosted the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup in November 2014. In 2015, it hosted the Premier League Asia Trophy, between Premier League clubs Arsenal, Everton, Stoke City, and Singapore Selection XI.

The stadium hosted matches during the International Champions Cup in 2017 (hosting the ICC Singapore tournament between Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan), 2018 (three matches), and 2019 (two matches).

In 2018, as a participant in the 2018 AFF Championship, Singapore played two matches at the stadium for the group stages as the home team.

As part of the Brazil Global Tour, Brazil played as series of friendlies against Senegal on 10 October 2019 and Nigeria on 13 October 2019 respectively.

On 15 July 2022, the stadium hosted the Singapore Trophy, a preseason friendly between Premier League clubs Liverpool and Crystal Palace. In May 2023, it was announced that the stadium would host the "Festival of Football" in late-July, which would feature friendlies between Tottenham Hotspur and AS Roma, Liverpool and Leicester City, and Liverpool and Bayern Munich. AS Roma were later replaced by Lion City Sailors of the Singapore Premier League, after the club was forced to pull out of the match after a pair of friendlies in South Korea were cancelled due to financial issues with their promoter.

Rugby

The stadium's inaugural event was the inaugural World Club 10s tournament in June 2014.

The stadium hosts the Singapore Sevens, a stop on the SVNS series.

Concerts

Concerts from artists based outside Asia are highlighted in light blue.

2016 National Day Parade

On 9 August 2016, the new National Stadium hosted Singapore's National Day Parade (NDP). The event had been frequently held at the old National Stadium in the past, and had been temporarily held at The Float at Marina Bay–a temporary venue on Marina Bay built to host outdoor sports and cultural events while the new National Stadium was being constructed. The design of the stadium resulted in limitations and modifications to the event, including the traditional military flypast and fireworks being obstructed by the stadium's dome, armoured military vehicles being unable to drive on the stadium's tracks, and the Red Lions being unable to parachute into the dome due to safety concerns. The parade thus incorporated different features, such as light shows (including a segment featuring models of Singaporean landmarks illuminated with projection mapping effects), large "puppets", and other artistic presentations.

The event faced mixed reception for its increased costs over the event held at The Float. Under the contract between the Sports Hub and Singapore Government, NDP organisers were allowed 45 days of free annual usage of the venue. However, technicians and performers reported that the time frame needed to be extended to 80 days, to which the Sports Hub requested an additional $26 million but was reportedly reduced to $10 million.

In October 2017, it was announced that The Float would be redeveloped as a permanent venue known as NS Square, and serve as the primary venue for the NDP when not held at the Padang every five years. The decision raised questions over whether the costs of renting the stadium would diminish the legacy that the former National Stadium had as a site for community events. Contrarily, it was argued that not hosting the NDP at the new National Stadium would free up its schedule for major international sporting events, especially during the summer months. Bids to host the Asia Masters Athletics Championships and the Merlion Cup at the stadium had also previously been stalled by costs demanded by the facility. Organizers raised the possibility of hosting the NDP at the stadium again in 2024 due to the construction of NS Square, but ultimately chose to host the 2024 and 2025 parades at the Padang instead.

Religious gatherings

In May 2019, the National Stadium hosted the Celebration of Hope, a three-day evangelistic event led by Rennis Ponniah.

On 12 September 2024, Pope Francis held a mass at the National Stadium as part of a tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania. It was attended by around 50,000 visitors.

See also

* List of Southeast Asia stadiums by capacity
* List of stadiums in Singapore
* Sport in Singapore

References

External links

Singapore Sports Council official websiteSingapore Sports Hub official website

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Kallang
Cricket grounds in Singapore
Football venues in Singapore
Retractable-roof stadiums
Rugby union stadiums in Singapore
2014 establishments in Singapore
Sports venues completed in 2014
Sunwolves
Southeast Asian Games stadiums
21st-century architecture in Singapore