Malaysia Stadium Corporation (PSM) has started the ball rolling by getting experts within government agencies to assess facilities that need to be repaired or replaced at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.
This comes as the National Stadium was ordered shut by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, starting yesterday.
Meetings were held yesterday to quickly address some of the shortcomings at the iconic stadium, built for the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.
Among the facilities that need to be repaired are the field, toilets, structural damages, dressing rooms, electrical components, and the roof.
Even the accessibility of the loading bays will be reexamined to ensure transporters with large vehicles have easy access.
The facilities at the other nearby venues will also be assessed.
It is learnt that the length of the closure will depend on the assessment reports. Also, allocations have been set aside to ensure work can be carried out immediately, once the damage has been identified.
It may take some six months for the new pitch to be laid.
The National Stadium is set to host three mega concerts – Justin Bieber’s World Tour on Oct 23, Jay Chow’s event on Jan 15, 2023, and Blackpink in March 2023.
It remains to be seen if Bieber’s show will go on as scheduled. The Canadian singer said last week that he was taking a break from performing after being diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which has left him with partial facial paralysis.
The other sporting events scheduled at the stadium will be moved to other venues should the repairs take longer than anticipated.
The National Stadium has been plagued by issues, mostly concerning the pitch, since 2002.
In March, the Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, said he would sponsor the cost for a new pitch to be laid at the stadium.
The venue came under scrutiny, yet again, following the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifying match between Bahrain and Malaysia last Saturday.
The teams played on a rain-soaked pitch following a downpour prior the 9pm kick off. Several individuals were seen using dustpans and cardboards to remove water from the field. Their actions were lambasted by PSM as the stadium owners insisted that the drainage system was working but that it needed time for the water to recede.
Match officials, however, deemed the field playable and allowed for the match to go on as scheduled. Malaysia lost 2-1 in that match.
Harimau Malaya made it to the Asian Cup, on merit, after winning their other two group matches (3-1 against Turkmenistan; and 4-1 against Bangladesh).
