- Singapore Badminton Hall
The Singapore Badminton Hall (
Abbreviation : SBH; zh-sp|s=新加坡羽毛球馆|p=xīnjiāpō yǔmáoqiúguǎn) is anindoor sports hall forbadminton located onGuillemard Road inGeylang ,Singapore . It is currently theheadquarter s of theSingapore Badminton Association (SBA).History
Construction
The Singapore Badminton Hall was built in
1952 for theThomas Cup Tournament . The first tournament was held in theUnited Kingdom in1949 , 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 Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) decided to build one in Singapore. Afund to build the Singapore Badminton Hall was launched, after aceremony welcoming the victorious Thomas Cup team at theVictoria Memorial Hall .In February
1951 , SBA requested from theSingapore Government for a plot of land on Guillemard Road to build the badmintonstadium . SBA was granted a 99-yearlease on the land, effectively from1 July the same year, and proceeded to construct the sports hall.The estimated
construction cost for the hall wasS$ 200,000 to S$250,000 but the eventual cost rose to S$800,000.Donation s then totalled only S$32,000.Aw Boon Haw , who was apatron of the SBA, gave aloan 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, C H Tong, generously assisted by commencing work.The Singapore Badminton Hall was completed in May 1952. However, the SBA did not have sufficient funds to cover the total construction cost. Eventually, the hall was
surrender ed to theSingapore Sports Council which took over its management in1978 .Thomas Cup
Although it was completed in May 1952, the Singapore Badminton Hall 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 includedWong Peng Soon ,Ong Poh Lim andIsmail Marjan , successfully defended their title.On
7 June , 1952, the Singapore Badminton Hall was eventually officially opened by theGovernor of Singapore , SirJohn Fearns Nicoll .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 June1958 but theIndonesia n team won this time.Political events
In June
1959 , a crowd of nearly 7,000 workers from 63trade union s gathered at the Singapore Badminton Hall to celebrate the advent of the new government after the general election, which was won by thePeople's Action Party .On
1 September 1962 , the Singapore Badminton Hall was the vote counting station for areferendum toTunku Abdul Rahman 's suggestion to merge Singapore,Brunei ,Sarawak ,Sabah and theFederation of Malaya to formMalaysia . About 71% of theelectorate voted for the merger proposal. At 11.15am on Sept 3, Prime MinisterLee Kuan Yew 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 Hall was the venue ofRadio Singapore 's all-starvariety show , "Puspawarna Singapura", which was hosted byP. Ramlee .In February
1965 , the Britishrock group The Rolling Stones held a one-nightperformance at the Singapore Badminton Hall. The crowd was so excited that awall erected for theconcert collapsed.outheast Asian Games
On
1 February 1978 , the Singapore Sports Council took over the management of the Singapore Badminton Hall after acquiring a 30-year lease from the Lands Office (now theSingapore Land Authority ). The hall was then renovated and served as the venue for badminton in the 12th and 17thSoutheast Asian Games , hosted by Singapore in1983 and1993 respectively.Historical site
On
1 September 1999 , the Singapore Badminton Hall was marked by theNational 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 byAbdullah Tarmugi ,Minister for Community Development and Sports .
=Future planscite news | author = Jeanette Wang | title = Singapore Badminton Hall likely to close in Jan | publisher = "The Straits Times " | date =28 July 2007 ] cite news | author = Jeanette Wang | title = End of an era for Singapore Badminton Hall: Start saying goodbye | publisher = "The Sunday Times" | date =29 July 2007 ] =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 theUrban Redevelopment Authority (URA) ceases on31 January 2008 . The SBA's lease is for the badminton hall and its adjacent building, which houses the association'soffice and practice courts. Its current annual lease of underS$ 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 theSingapore Sports School andAnglo-Chinese School (Independent) . The SBA will eventually be relocated to theSingapore Sports Hub inKallang , due for completion in2011 .The building had another
tenant , the Fatty Wengrestaurant , but it moved to Smith Street in Chinatown in March 2007 when the SBA was not able to commit to a long-termcontract .When the Singapore Badminton Hall closes, the building will be returned to URA. The site of the hall has been zoned for
sport s andrecreation use under URA's Master Plan2003 .ee also
*
Sport in Singapore Notes
References
*cite web |url= http://www.sportsmuseum.ssc.gov.sg/museum/ssm_cat_details.jsp?type=9&artID=34&root=75&cat=75|title= Singapore Sports Council Sports Museum: Singapore Badminton Hall |accessdate=2007-07-28 |format= |work=
Singapore Sports Council
*cite web |url= http://www.sportsmuseum.ssc.gov.sg/museum/ssm_milestones_details.jsp?type=10&root=69&parent=69&cat=71&artID=185&date=1999-01-22|title= The Singapore Badminton Hall marked as a historical site |accessdate=2007-07-28 |format= |work=Singapore Sports Council
*cite web |url= http://www.singaporebadminton.org.sg/His.asp|title= The Singapore Badminton Association: History |accessdate=2007-07-28 |format= |work=Singapore Badminton Association External links
* [http://www.livelife.ecitizen.gov.sg/culture/heritage/nationbuilding_detail.asp?plc_id=2 Singapore Government eCitizen website]
* [http://www.singaporebadminton.org.sg/ Singapore Badminton Association]
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