SINGAPORE: Football pitch operators at Bukit Timah Turf City are moving to new sites, with all tenants – except an equestrian operator – due to vacate by Dec 31.
WWTBF, a tenant that operated The Cage, was awarded a sports use site at 10A Harding Road, while Rainforest Sports Hub was awarded a site near Haw Par Villa MRT station.
Tenants at Turf City have been given two successive 18-month tenancy extensions up to Dec 31 to allow more time for them to move out. The site is zoned for residential use, with plans for a new neighbourhood.
According to a joint release by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), Sport Singapore (SportSG) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday (Dec 21), the only tenant that does not have to vacate its premises at Turf City by Dec 31 is equestrian operator Blue Dolphin Gallery, which has been given a three-month temporary occupation licence.
SPORTS FACILITIES
WWTBF’s The Cage runs seven football pitches at Turf City. It has found a new site at Harding Road in the Dempsey area. Its new home is about one-eighth of its size at Turf City, the operator said previously.
Rainforest Sports Hub operates eight artificial pitches, including an 11-a-side football pitch. It won the tender for the parcel of land next to Haw Par Villa MRT station.
SportSG has been working closely with relevant agencies to identify sites that can be progressively tendered out for sports use, the joint press release said, adding that this would attract good proposals to “better engage communities through sport”.
“For example, WWTBF’s proposal envisaged the 10A Harding Road site as an engaging and vibrant multi-sports facility, with a line-up of regular sports programmes involving diverse communities,” said the agencies.
“Similarly, Rainforest Sports Hub’s vision for the state land adjacent to Haw Par Villa MRT station is to create an engaging, vibrant and eco-friendly rugby sports facility with regular rugby-related programming to engage the wider community.”
To complement the strategies under the Sports Facilities Master Plan, SportSG aims to “increase the network of sport and play spaces beyond the provision of public sport facilities”.