The possibility of naming Singapore's National Stadium or Singapore Indoor Stadium after personalities was raised by Acting Minister for Culture, Community & Youth Lawrence Wong on Monday, following OCBC Bank sealing a $50M, 15-year naming-rights deal with the Singapore Sports Hub, according to May Chen of the STRAITS TIMES. While the deal allows OCBC to "carry its brand on venues" within the 35-hectare park, "both the National Stadium and SIS are off limits to commercial branding." They could, however, be "named after individuals the nation wishes to celebrate and remember." As far as "former sprint legend C. Kunalan is concerned, only an individual who has made a huge impact should be accorded the honour of having a national stadium named after him or her." Kunalan said, "He or she must have really influenced the progress of sport in Singapore and, until now, we haven't had anyone who's done that." Sports historian Nick Aplin said, "You'd want someone who had made an impact after independence because of national identity. At the moment, I can't think of a good one" (STRAITS TIMES, 11/14).
COMMUNITY OVER 'BIG BANG': In Singapore, Lim Say Heng reported the Singapore Sports Hub "may soon be a magnet for world-class international events, but its debut next April will feature a community event instead of a 'big bang' opening." Singapore Sports Hub CEO Philippe Delavaud said, "It will have all types of sports at all the venues ... we want to open (the Hub) with community events and sports experience type of events." Wong added that the $1.33B facility's official opening "may take place" when Singapore hosts the biennial Southeast Asian Games in June '15. Wong: "You can't have an official opening on day one. We are going to phase in all the systems and make sure the operations work well over time because it's such a big venue" (THE NEW PAPER, 11/14).
