Former Singapore Badminton Hall: Difference between revisions
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==Future plans== |
==Future plans== |
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There are plans to close the Singapore Badminton Hall, after the 30-year lease between the Singapore Sports Council and the [[Urban Redevelopment Authority]] ceases on [[31 January]] [[2008]]. The Singapore Badminton Association's lease is for the badminton hall and its adjacent building, which houses the association's [[office]] and [[practice]] [[Court (disambiguation)|court]]s. Its annual lease of under [[S$]]100,000 would be increased to S$1.164 million if the SBA were to renew it, but the |
There are plans to close the Singapore Badminton Hall, after the 30-year lease between the Singapore Sports Council and the [[Urban Redevelopment Authority]] ceases on [[31 January]] [[2008]]. The Singapore Badminton Association's lease is for the badminton hall and its adjacent building, which houses the association's [[office]] and [[practice]] [[Court (disambiguation)|court]]s. Its annual lease of under [[S$]]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. |
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The building has another [[tenant]], the Fatty Weng [[restaurant]], but it moved to [[Smith Street]] in March [[2007]] when the SBA was not able to commit to a long-term [[contract]]. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Revision as of 14:54, 28 July 2007
The Singapore Badminton Hall (Abbreviation: SBH; Chinese: 新加坡羽毛球馆; pinyin: xīnjiāpō yǔmáoqiúguǎn) is a sports hall for badminton located on Guillemard Road in Geylang, Singapore. It is currently the headquarters of the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA).
History
Thomas Cup
The Singapore Badminton Hall was built in 1951 for the Thomas Cup Tournament. The first tournament was held in the United Kingdom in 1949, 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 decided to build one in Singapore.
In 1951, SBA requested from the Singapore Government for a plot of land on Guillemard Road to build the badminton stadium. SBA was granted a 99-year lease on the land, effectively from 1 July the same year, and proceeded to construct the sports hall.
The Singapore Badminton Hall was completed in May 1952. However, it was not ready for the 2nd Thomas Cup Tournament that was scheduled on 27-28 May that year. The tournament was held at the Gay World Stadium, where the Malayan Team, which included Wong Peng Soon, Ong Poh Lim and Ismail Marjan, successfully defended their title.
On 7 June, 1952, the Singapore Badminton Hall was eventually officially opened by the Governor of Singapore, Sir John 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 June 1958 but the Indonesian team won this time.
Politics
In June 1959, a crowd of nearly 7,000 workers from 63 trade unions gathered at the Singapore Badminton Hall to celebrate the advent of the new government after the general election, which was won by the People's Action Party.
On 1 September 1962, the Singapore Badminton Hall was the vote counting station for a referendum to Tunku Abdul Rahman's suggestion to merge Singapore, Brunei, Sarawak, Sabah and the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia. About 71% of the electorate voted for the merger proposal.
Concerts
On 7 December, 1959, the Singapore Badminton Hall was the venue of Radio Singapore's all-star variety show, Puspawarna Singapura, which was hosted by P. Ramlee.
In February 1965, the British rock group The Rolling Stones held a one-night performance at the Singapore Badminton Hall. The crowd was so excited that a wall erected for the concert collapsed.
Southeast 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 the Singapore Land Authority). The hall was then renovated and served as the venue for badminton in the 12th and 17th Southeast Asian Games, hosted by Singapore in 1983 and 1993 respectively.
Historical site
On 1 September 1999, the Singapore Badminton Hall was marked by the National Heritage Board as a historical site. This was in recognition of the two significant historical events that happened at the hall — it held the Thomas Cup tournaments and was the vote counting station for the 1962 referendum. The ceremony was officiated by Abdullah Tarmugi, Minister for Community Development and Sports.
Future plans
There are plans to close the Singapore Badminton Hall, after the 30-year lease between the Singapore Sports Council and the Urban Redevelopment Authority ceases on 31 January 2008. The Singapore Badminton Association's lease is for the badminton hall and its adjacent building, which houses the association's office and practice courts. Its annual lease of under S$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 building has another tenant, the Fatty Weng restaurant, but it moved to Smith Street in March 2007 when the SBA was not able to commit to a long-term contract.