Why not create a Stadium Shah Alam Sports Corridor?

On Monday evening of July 18th 2022, Padang Bola Sepak’s founder Khalilul Rahman was invited by BFM 89.9, The Business Station to record a session for their Bar None episode. This was to talk about Stadium Shah Alam and basically state of our stadiums.

Here is an excerpt or summary from this episode:

  • Memories at the historic landmark as one of the most iconic stadiums in the country, at one point the biggest in Southeast Asia.

  • Reaction to the news, earlier in the month by Selangor MB that there were proposals to tear the stadium down.

  • Viral videos of the state of the stadium/structural defects made it rounds on social media over the recent months.

  • Maintenance culture in Malaysia. The easy answer would be frequent maintenance and proper care.

  • The Stadium Shah Alam restoration project would be carried out through a private-public partnership with Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) footing the cost - to the tune of rm787 million. MRCB previously had worked on the restoration of the Bukit Jalil stadium.

  • A stadium widely regarded now as the best stadium in the country is Stadium Sultan Ibrahim - JDT’s home ground - that cost about rm200 million. vs rm787 for SSA, more than triple the cost.

  • Plans for the upgraded stadium will be publicly displayed in September. A good step forward in terms of transparency.

  • The initial plan to build a new arena would see a decrease in capacity from 80,000 to a reduced and will only be a football stadium and not a multi-purpose venue. Opinion of non-footballing events as part of the issue of a stadium’s wear and tear

  • Preserving historical sporting landmarks like Stadium Shah Alam translates to the growth of sports in the country

  • The best way to preserve these sites for future generations

Listen to the full episode on Spotify on the link below:

STADIUM SHAH ALAM TO UNDERGO RM787MIL REFURBISHMENT and the preview link below.

Special shoutout to Daryl Ong of BFM Radio’s Bar None for having Khalilul Rahman to share his experience and thoughts on this topic. We highly appreciate it.

Ahnaf Yusri