S-League leaders may have to vacate Tampines Stadium for work to start on new town hub
by Shamir Osman
Apr 12, 2011 SINGAPORE - The 16th season of the Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League is shaping up to be one of change for Tampines Rovers.
After eight games, they lead second-placed SAFFC by two points, playing a brand of football that suggests this could be the year the Stags end their six-year title drought.
Changes off the pitch, though, may not be so positive for the eastern giants.
Tampines have lost their clubhouse and with it the fruit-machine operations that are an important source of income for most S-League clubs, supplementing the annual subsidy given by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).
The lease for their Toa Payoh clubhouse was not renewed last November and the Stags are still looking for an appropriate place to house their fruit-machines.
In what will surely be a bigger headache for the club, if confirmed, is if the Stags have to move out of the 3,600-capacity Tampines Stadium (picture).
In January, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan announced that the area currently occupied by the sports complex will be taken over for the proposed Tampines Town Hub.
It has not been decided if the facilities will be demolished or integrated into the hub that will be managed by the People's Association (PA) and which is scheduled to open in 2015.
Speaking to MediaCorp yesterday, Tampines chairman Teo Hock Seng said: "We're not sure if we have to move, but for now we're still at Tampines Stadium. We've not been told but if we have to move, we'll move."
The Tampines Stadium is under the purview of the Singapore Sports Council (SSC), while the PA will manage the Tampines Town Hub.
In response to MediaCorp queries, a PA spokesperson said: "The plan for the proposed Tampines Town Hub, including the stadium, will only be available after the design of the Town Hub is finalised."
MediaCorp understands that if the Stags do move, they are likely to take over the vacant Yishun Stadium, last utilised by Chinese side Beijing Guoan before they left the S-League at the end of 2010.
Said Jose Raymond, SSC's deputy director for media relations and social media: "The SSC will be working with the FAS for an alternative stadium for Tampines Rovers, if necessary."
The last S-League team to vacate their headquarters were Home United, who moved to Clementi Stadium in November 2008 for renovation work to begin at home ground Bishan Stadium, ahead of last year's Youth Olympic Games. They moved back before the start of this season.
While awaiting developments, Tampines will focus on fulfilling some key performance indicators set by the FAS.
Said Teo: "The fruit-machines give us supplementary income, but our top priority now is our Centre of Excellence (COE) ... and to look for a good quality young foreign forward."
Part of the FAS' outcome-based funding requires that clubs set up COEs by next month and source for two young foreign players aged between 18 and 21.
The Stags have temporarily surrendered their fruit-machine operation license to the police until they begin clubhouse operations again, and Teo said: "We are still looking for a suitable venue for our clubhouse.
"Running the fruit-machines is no simple feat, we need the right machines, right location and right person to run it."
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