By Seamus O’Brien
Aside from being the busiest port in the world, Singapore is leading Asia in many areas. The World Economic Forum (WEF) reported it as the region’s most competitive economy ahead of Japan, the Economic Intelligence Unit ranked it as the top business environment, it boasts the region’s (and indeed, the world’s) best airport and airline, and next September, it will host the first ever Formula-1 Grand Prix night race. Safe to say that by 2012, it will also become Asia’s leading sports hub.
Increased government investment in sport is starting to play a bigger role as nations appreciate its positive impact on the economy and on society as a whole. Unsurprisingly, Singapore is well ahead of this game. In 2004, Singapore’s sports industry contributed some US$696 million to the nation’s GDP – that’s roughly 0.6 percent of its total US$110 billion that year. Recognizing the importance of the sports business to domestic sports development as well as the nation’s economy and tourism trade, in 2001 the Singapore government established an ambitious initiative to double the size of its sports industry to SG$1.4 billion, to develop the Republic into one of the top ten sporting nations in Asia by 2010 and to position the nation as the leading sports hub in the region.
In support of its vision, the government has committed nearly US$1 billion towards sports development and plans are underway to construct the world’s first and largest Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) sports infrastructure project – a 35-hectare integrated sports, entertainment and lifestyle facility. By all accounts, these plans look to be right on track.
This commitment is further proven by Singapore being awarded the 2011 World Netball Championships, the 2009 Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup (co-hosted with Malaysia) and starting 2009, it will also be one of the stopover destinations on sailing’s round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. Additionally, its aggressive bids for the 2010 Youth Olympics Games and FINA World Championships, plans to build a permanent motorsports track plus last year’s record performances at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the Asian Games in Doha are all clear indications that the Lion City is emerging as a major player in international sport.
With the construction of the Singapore Sports Hub, there is no doubt that Singapore is entering a new era in sport and set to become a leading international sports hub. Its accessible geographic location, world-class infrastructure and burgeoning economy driven by the government’s vision; dynamic corporate community and skilled workforce – are all conditions that are not only central to a thriving business environment but also for hosting major international sports events. The key for long-term success however, is to establish a viable and sustainable sports strategy that harnesses business, sport and the community – positioning Singapore as the place where sport and business meet – and taking advantage of the nation’s great infrastructure assets.
The Barclays Singapore Open – the pinnacle of the union of sport and business, is a classic example of how this strategy works. Title-sponsors Barclays have identified golf as the sport which is most suitably aligned with their brand values and business objectives. The event is therefore a highly effective tool in delivering on their corporate strategy for their financial services products. Similarly, over the years, the Barclays Singapore Open has helped present Singapore and Sentosa Island to a global golf audience as a choice destination – a key theme on the Singapore Government’s agenda. In less than five years, the Barclays Singapore Open has grown into the richest national golf tournament in the region and become a major fixture on the regional and global sporting calendar. Viewed by a worldwide television audience, a record of almost 32,000 fans and spectators also crowded the fairways at the Serapong Course on Sentosa this year to watch some the world’s top golfers in action.
Government investment and private sector involvement alongside other vital ingredients such as cultivating increased sport participation, youth development and successful performances in international competition, will ensure significant growth in the years to come. In essence, these principles form the Singapore Sporting Vision – participation, excellence, industry – and the Singapore Sports Hub will be the catalyst for achieving that vision.
Historically, many multi-purpose stadiums have been developed without forethought to their long-term sustainability. Just look at the debates being sparked around the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing and London 2012’s Olympic Stadium. Even in Sydney, the host to arguably the most games of the modern era, the stadium side has since gone through financial difficulties.
The general phobia of proverbial “white elephants,” – the bane of modern society, stem largely from spectacular failures of facilities constructed specifically to host one major international sporting event. Such failures however, have forced the Singapore Sports Hub Consortium to rethink our approach and model it upon successful examples of how modern sports facilities should be operated within a community and a viable ecosystem. The Staples Centre in Los Angeles and the Melbourne Cricket Ground are among the world’s best examples. Clearly, the Singapore Government has taken a bird’s eye view of such world-class facilities and put this knowledge into practice. The Singapore Sports Hub is one of those rare facilities in the world that is not being built for the sole purpose of hosting a major international sporting event. Instead, the construction of the Sports Hub is part of a longer-term strategy that will ultimately result in economic and social benefits.
Clearly, there is no single blueprint that can be applied to guarantee success. The winning formula however, is an all-encompassing strategy to create a total sporting culture that begins by aligning education to sport to cultivate healthy sport participation levels, grooming young talent – the nation’s rising stars who represent the next generation of elite athletes, growing a mature domestic sports industry and fueling the corporate community’s investment in sport. These, along with identifying key long-term sustainable and viable revenue streams from anchor tenants, year-round programs with the right mix of local, regional and international sports and entertainment events, public recreational facilities and retail space, among others, are paramount to this process.
The introduction of an ASEAN Super League as part of the Consortium’s overall strategy for example, has far-reaching benefits. Aside from supporting the charter for a unified ASEAN and fulfilling the void left behind from the demise of Malaysia’s M-League, the new League would look to be the only logical and viable candidate for the Sports Hub anchor tenancy. An ASEAN Super League will help to develop football at regional, national, club, participatory and commercial levels and give Singaporeans exciting, quality football all year round.
As an urban recreation centre for all Singaporeans, built in the heart of the Lion City’s metropolitan area, the Singapore Sports Hub is a catalyst for change for the nation at large. It also represents a barometer of the nation’s confidence and international status. It is not about whether the economy can support this project – which, clearly it can. Rather, it is about harnessing the opportunities offered by sport to establish a viable, sustainable and integrated strategy harnessing business, sport and community to create a thriving sports ecosystem and the region’s leading sports hub that will make the nation proud.
This article was published in the Business Times, Singapore on 6th December 2007.