Pitch quality affects events at new Singapore National Stadium

The poor state of the pitch at Singapore’s new National Stadium is causing both embarrassment and concern over the loss of events.

The poor state of the playing surface within the 55,000 seat stadium led to the cancellation of the New Zealand Maori rugby team’s 15th November match against Asia Pacific Dragons while Brazilian coach Dunga was also critical of the playing surface in advance of his team’s football friendly against Japan last month, saying that it had more sand than grass.

Even as an entertainment venue the surface is causing concern, forcing a Jay Chou concert to be postponed from 8th November to 27th December while the stage for Mariah Carey’s recent concert was moved away from the pitch.

Matches for the ASEAN Football Federation’s upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup have also been switched to the 8,000 capacity Jalan Besar Stadium with only Singapore's matches against Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar to be held at the National Stadium.

Singapore is co-hosting the tournament - which runs from 23rd to 29th November - with Vietnam.

Singapore Sports Hub Pte Ltd is currently using special lighting equipment to provide additional light to aid grass growth, with a SportsHub Pte Ltd official stating that the venue managers are aiming "optimise pitch recovery" before Singapore's first match against Thailand on 23rd November.

The National Stadium is part of the S$1 billion Singapore Sports Hub complex. 

9th August 2014 - SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB THE CENTREPIECE OF NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS