# Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex

The Bung Karno Sports Complex (Indonesian: Gelanggang Olahraga Bung Karno), better known as Gelora Bung Karno and formerly named the Asian Games Complex (Indonesian: Kompleks Asian Games and the Senayan Sports Complex (Indonesian: Kompleks Olahraga Senayan) from 1969 to 2001, is a sports complex located in Gelora, Central Jakarta, bordering the Senayan, South Jakarta because of its large location. Originally built with substantial Soviet assistance, this sports complex was a brain child of Sukarno, the first President of Indonesia, in order to host the 1962 Asian Games. This sports complex consists of a main stadium, secondary stadium, the Sports Palace, football fields, aquatic stadium, tennis stadiums (indoor and outdoor), hockey, baseball and archery fields, and several indoor gymnasiums. This complex was built in 1960 and underwent major renovation for the 2018 Asian Games and Asian Para Games.

## History

After the Asian Games Federation declared Jakarta to host the 1962 Asian Games in 1958, the minimum requirement that was yet to be met by Jakarta was the availability of a multi-sport complex. In response to this, President Sukarno issued Presidential Decree No. 113/1959 dated 11 May 1959 about the establishment of the Asian Games Council of Indonesia (DAGI) led by Minister of Sports Maladi. Sukarno, as an architect and civil engineering graduate, proposed a location near M. H. Thamrin Boulevard and Menteng, namely the area of Karet, Pejompongan, or Dukuh Atas. Friedrich Silaban, a renowned architect who accompanied Sukarno to review the location by helicopter, disagreed with the selection of Dukuh Atas because he argued the construction of a sports complex in the center of the future downtown area will potentially create massive traffic congestion. Sukarno agreed and instead assigned the Senayan area with an area of approximately 300 hectares.
The first pole erection was done symbolically by Sukarno and Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan on 8 February 1960. Construction of Istora was completed in May 1961. The secondary stadium, Swimming Stadium, and Tennis Stadium followed in December 1961. The main stadium was completed on 21 July 1962, a month before the games.
The sports complex hosts a main stadium with a capacity of 77,193 seats, athletic stadium, football fields, aquatic stadium, tennis stadiums (indoor and outdoor), hockey, baseball and archery fields, and several indoor gymnasiums. Built over 279 hectares of land, it is the largest sports complex in Indonesia. The Gelora Bung Karno Stadium is the main building within this sports complex. The abbreviation Gelora also means "vigorous" (like the flame or ocean wave) in the Indonesian language. Other than hosting several sports facilities, the sports complex is also a popular place for people of Jakarta to do physical exercises; jogging, bicycling, aerobics, and calisthenics, especially during the weekend.

## Sporting events

For the first time, the sports complex was host fourth Asian Games in 1962. The main stadium hosted the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Other competitions held there were several AFF Championship finals and domestic cup finals. The Istora hosted numbers of BWF World Championships, Sudirman Cup, Thomas Cup and Uber Cup badminton competitions. The tennis stadium hosted most of Indonesia's home matches at the Davis Cup and Fed Cup.
The sports complex hosted multi-event sport such as Pekan Olahraga Nasional (PON, National Sports Week) and Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games). The complex hosted the PON seven times between 1973 and 1996. The complex hosted the SEA Games in 1979, 1987, 1997 and 2011; the latter was co-hosted with Jakabaring Sport City complex in Palembang. It also hosted 2018 Asian Games along with Palembang's complex and some other venues across Palembang, Banten, Greater Jakarta and West Java, while it served only with other venues across Greater Jakarta and West Java during the subsequent Para Games.
The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was held at a new 17,150 seater arena within the sports complex known as Indonesia Arena; Indonesia was the co-host along with Japan and the Philippines.

## Facilities
### Sports venues

| Venue | Purpose | Capacity | Built | Notes | Tenants |
| Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium | Multi-use, mostly football | 77,193 | 1960 | Largest stadium in Indonesia (1962–2022) | Indonesia national football team |
| Istora Gelora Bung Karno | Multi-use, mostly badminton | 7,166 | 1960 | | Indonesia Open (1982–2024) and Indonesia Masters (since 2018) |
| Gelora Bung Karno Aquatic Stadium | Aquatic sports | 7,800 | 1960 | Formerly named "Swimming Stadium" | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Indoor Stadium | Multi-use, mostly volleyball and concerts | 3,750 | 1993 | First sports arena in Southeast Asia to use retractable roof, it is no longer operable. | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Outdoor Stadium (Center Court) | Tennis | 3,800 | 1960 | | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Madya Stadium | Athletics and football | 9,170 | 1960 | | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Basketball Hall | Basketball | 2,400 | 1960 | | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Baseball Field | Baseball | 1,320 | 2016 | Built on site of 12 tennis clay courts and 6 tennis hard courts | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Hockey Field | Field Hockey | 818 | 1973 | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Softball Field | Softball | ≈500 | 1996 | Also called Lapangan Softball Pintu Satu (Gate One Softball Field) to distinguish it with the nearby, now-demolished Cemaratiga Softball Field. Can be upgraded with temporary seats to 2,000 capacity. | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Archery Field | Archery | 97 | 1973 | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Rugby Field | Rugby | N/A | 2017 | Built on the site of Lapangan D (D Football Field) | |
| Shooting range | Shooting | N/A | 1992 | New location. Mulia Hotel now stands in the original site. | |
| GBK Arena | Multi-sports training halls | N/A | 2016 | Located outside the main complex on the west, built on the site of Asia Afrika Sports Hall, a badminton training hall (originally completed in 1986) | |
| Volleyball Training Hall | Volleyball training | N/A | 1988 | | |
| A, B, and C Football Field | Football training | N/A | 1970 | | |
| Gateball Court | Gateball | N/A | 2017 | | |
| Beach Volleyball Court | Beach volleyball | N/A | 1996 | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Squash Stadium | Squash | 560 | 1996 | Also called D Hall (Indonesian: Hall D) | |
| Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Court | Tennis | N/A | 1993 | Two hard courts | |
| Indonesia Arena | Multi-use | 16,500 | 2023 | During construction known as the "Indoor Multifunction Stadium"; held the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup | Indonesia Open (planned from 2025) |

### Other buildings
#### Other buildings inside the complex

* Jakarta Convention Center (completed 1974)
* Al Bina mosque (completed 2001)
* Jakarta Sultan Hotel (formerly Hilton Hotel Jakarta, completed 1971)
* Mulia Hotel (completed 1994)
* Krida Loka Park (completed 1987)
* GBK Park (completed in 2019, stands on what was the Senayan Golf Course & Driving Range)
Initially, the sports complex covers a much larger area than it is today. During the 1980s to 1990s, several land plots were developed into non-sport facilities. The northern area was developed into government offices while the southern area was developed into hotels and shopping malls. The complex also had a radio-controlled car circuit northwest of the main stadium, which was scrapped during the 2017 renovation.

#### Northern area

* DPR/MPR Building (completed 1968)
* TVRI Studios and National Headquarters Building (completed 1962)
* Ministry of Youth and Sports Building (completed 1983)
* National Forestry Museum (Manggala Wanabakti, formerly Ministry of Forestry office, completed 1983)
* Senayan Park (completed 2020, stands on the former site of Taman Ria Senayan)

#### Southern area

The southern area was originally an athlete village for the 1962 Asian Games. The village was demolished in the 1970s. Several buildings now stood in their location.
* Century Park Hotel (completed 1990)
* Ratu Plaza (completed 1982)
* Plaza Senayan (completed 1996)
* Senayan Trade Center (completed 2006)
* Senayan City (completed 2006)
* fX Sudirman (completed 2008)
* Fairmont Jakarta Hotel (completed 2015)
* Multipurpose Building (completed 1987)

### Demolished buildings or facilities

* Remote controlled-car racing circuit
* Asia Afrika Sports Hall
* Volleyball Arena that was used during the 1962 Asian Games
* 18 tennis courts located southern of the tennis stadiums.
* Roller sports court
* Gymnastics Building
* Cemaratiga Softball Field
* Senayan Golf Range
* Street Dirt Senayan

## Gallery

* The main stadium during a Liga 1 match.