Debated in Parliament on 12 Aug 2013.
Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) why the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding between OCBC Bank and the Singapore Sports Hub Consortium for naming rights to the Sports Hub was not approved by the Government; (b) whether the Ministry and the Singapore Sports Council could have better managed the process with clearer guidelines on the naming rights to the Sports Hub facilities; (c) if he will provide an update and details on the naming of the individual Sports Hub facilities, including the naming rights sale and revenue generated thus far; and (d) how does the Ministry ensure that fair value has been obtained in any naming rights sale.
The Sports Hub is developed under a 25-year public-private-partnership (PPP) agreement, where Sports Hub Pte Ltd (SHPL) undertakes to design, build, finance and operate the entire project. As part of the contract, SHPL solicits and manages commercial opportunities for the Sports Hub. SHPL has commercial relationships with many partners and it does not require the Government's approval to enter into any such commercial agreements.
What SHPL needs to do is to seek the SSC's approval for the naming of Sports Hub facilities. The PPP agreement provides for the sale of such naming rights for individual facilities within the Sports Hub, but it was silent on whether naming rights could be sold for the entire Sports Hub. Nevertheless, in seeking to secure the best sponsorship deal for the Sports Hub, SHPL had identified a potential sponsor which was prepared to pay for such a naming right, and it
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made a formal proposal to the SSC.
My Ministry and the SSC studied this proposal carefully. It was an attractive proposal, which would have provided significant sponsorship monies for the Sports Hub. But we decided that it was important to retain the over-riding principle of preserving the Sports Hub and the National Stadium as national icons free from commercial naming rights. SSC has since clarified this point with SHPL. They have accepted our position, and are now looking at sponsorship deals confined to individual facilities within the Sports Hub.
In assessing any proposal for the sale of naming rights, SSC will look at fair value considerations. This is done through an independent valuation of the commercial value of the property. At this juncture, the details of the naming rights deal for individual Sports Hub facilities are still being worked out.
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