Singapore National Stadium – stadium description

In 2007 Singapore Sports Council announced the open tender to deliver its new national stadium. The scheme ranked as largest ever public-private-partnership project saw three bidders compete. In early 2008 the Singapore Sports Hub plan was selected, envisaging a monumental dome surrounded by secondary structures, two indoor halls, natatorium and a vast shopping mall.

Along the guidelines SSH included no less than 55,000 seats for fans and a retractable roof to make the stadium weather-proof. As the design came to a detailed phase, it turned out that the dome designed by Arup is also the world’s largest self-supporting dome, spanning across 312 meters. The retractable part of the roof consists of two hydraulically moving segments, requiring some 20 minutes to open/close. When closed, the stadium is still partly open because of a large western gate offering a view of Singapore’s skyline. A maximum of 95% seats can be protected from rain.

Altogether there are 55,000 seats spanning over three tiers. The lowest one is partly retractable, allowing sections of seating to move 12.5m and allow decent sightlines for football/rugby (55,000), cricket (52,000) and athletics (50,000). A unique features is the stadium’s cooling system, providing each seat with individual blower, pushing in 12 liters of cool air per second.

Work didn’t start immediately after design selection. The S$1.87 billion project was put on hold in 2008 as a result of economic crisis. It took off with piling and ground works in 2010 and was expected to end in April 2014. In the end there was a slight delay, seeing first test events in June and July.