Cost of New "Lay-and-Play" Natural Grass Turf for National Stadium

Madam, under the Project Agreement with the private consortium Sports Hub Pte Ltd (SHPL), the National Stadium has to be able to host a wide range of sporting events. When it became clear that the current pitch solution was not able to meet the demands for the events calendar for the National Stadium, SHPL did an extensive review and decided to go with a natural turf "lay-and-play" solution, meaning they grow the turf separately outside the stadium and they lay over the pitch. This "lay-and-play" solution was preferred over a fully artificial pitch because top sporting events and top teams in sports like football and rugby demand a natural turf.

The "lay-and-play" solution would involve, as I have mentioned earlier, growing the natural pitch under more conducive conditions of a nursery and then installing it at the National Stadium for such sporting events. The cost of implementing and maintaining the new turf is a commercial matter between SHPL and the parties it is contracting with. Under the terms of the Project Agreement, such costs are fully borne by the private consortium, SHPL, and not by the Government.

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The Member asked how the Government will ensure that SHPL does not pass the additional costs on to tenants and customers. SHPL has already made a public commitment that it will bear the full cost of the new pitch solution and will not pass on the costs to event organisers or end users and Sport Singapore will continue to keep a close watch on rentals, charges and ticket prices at the Sports Hub to ensure that this commitment is upheld.

Madam, I have five supplementary questions for the Minister. First, there were concerns from experts that if the natural grass is laid just a week to 10 days before an event, its roots may not have enough time to have the necessary penetration into the sub-base to provide a firm and solid pitch. This may cause the grass to slip and athletes could get hurt. How will these concerns be addressed?

Question two: artificial turf technology has improved significantly in recent years and there are now 459 artificial turf pitches around the world that have FIFA's two-star recommended mark for fields that ensure the highest playing performance for professional level football, including four in Singapore. Was serious consideration given for artificial turf to be used after the hybrid's turf solution failed and what were the reasons why it was rejected? Was it due to the public outcry against it when the idea was first reported in November last year?

Question three, were there any warranty clauses in the contracts with the original hybrid turf contractor to ensure that they pay for any remedies if they fail to ensure that the grass will grow properly?

Question four, moving forward, does the contract with the new natural turf contractor include warranty clauses, in case this, too, fails?

And lastly, while I know that SHPL is responsible for the service recovery, one can reasonably expect that it will need to find some ways to recover the cost of these failed solutions, which at latest count seems to be in excess of $2.3 million. Beyond assurances, are there any contractual prohibitions against SHPL recovering cost either directly or indirectly from tenants and customers, either now or in the future?

Madam, on the first point of the technicalities of laying the pitch, timing and so forth, that is something that I think is best left to the experts. There will be different views on this. SHPL is engaging an international turf company to work out the solution for this "lay-and-play" approach and I am sure they would be well advised on having adequate time to put the pitch in place.

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A "lay-and-play" solution is not something new. It has been done around the world in many stadiums and so there is very adequate experience and expertise out there for us to make sure that this is done properly. I am sure SHPL will consult the experts and Sport Singapore will also supervise to make sure that this is done properly.

On the second point about artificial turf and whether this has been considered, indeed, it was considered very carefully. As I had mentioned, SHPL did an extensive review of all the options including an artificial turf option. And the reason as I mentioned why it ruled out a fully artificial pitch is that, notwithstanding what the Member said about artificial turf gaining popularity around the world, there are still many top teams in football and rugby that will not play in an artificial pitch. That is the case today. If we had an artificial pitch, I doubt very much that we would have a Brazil-Japan match, for example, recently. I doubt very much that top rugby teams will play in Singapore.

The situation may change because the artificial pitch is getting better, the technology is getting better and acceptance is growing. We are not ruling it out completely and SHPL will continue to monitor. I am sure they will continue to assess whether this can be an option in the future.

On warranty clauses and remedies, whether with the existing or whether with the current provider or the new one, as I have mentioned earlier, these are commercial contracts between SHPL and its providers. It is left to commercial negotiations between SHPL and its providers.

On service recovery, I have already explained what SHPL has done. Contractually, SHPL has an agreement with Sport Singapore to deliver certain standards and that includes ensuring that the facilities and the pitch at the stadium are of a sufficient standard for international play. Sport Singapore will hold SHPL accountable to these outcomes. I think what is important, is, as I have mentioned, Sport Singapore has been engaging SHPL at the very highest level. They have met the Chairman of the company; they have even met the senior leaders or the equity owners of this project. It is the equity holders, not just the management company but the equity holders. All of the leadership and the people involved in this project have given us the promise that they will do their best to rectify the teething issues and they would do it at their own cost. They have given this promise not just to Sport Singapore, but publicly to Singaporeans, and we will hold them to account for this.