Bishan Stadium

Bishan Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Bishan, Singapore. It is the main home ground of Singapore Premier League side, Lion City Sailors, and used mostly for football matches. The stadium was constructed in 1998 and is managed by Sport Singapore. The stadium is also third-in-line to host international football matches, behind the Singapore National Stadium and Jalan Besar Stadium.

The public can use the facilities from 4:30 am to 8:30 pm daily unless it is exclusively booked for a sporting event. An indoor sports hall with facilities for badminton, table tennis and gymnastics lies adjacent to the stadium.

Location
Situated in the central part of Singapore, Bishan Stadium is part of the Bishan Sports and Recreation Centre, which includes the Bishan Sports Hall and the Bishan Swimming Complex.

History

Timeline 
Since its opening in 1998, Bishan Stadium has been the ground of Home United/Lion City Sailors, a professional football club in Singapore. From 2004 to 2006, the Stadium was used for the team's home matches in the Asian Football Confederation Cup tournament.

In September 2006, Bishan Stadium was one of two venues for the Asian Football Confederation U-17 championship hosted by Singapore.

The Australia national football team also used the Bishan stadium as its training base for two weeks in June 2007 before it left for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup in Thailand.

Bishan Stadium was used as the athletics venue of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.
The Stadium was also the venue for the 35th Singapore Junior Athletics Championships 2009, which was held in May of that year.

The Stadium was also the venue for the 35th Singapore Junior Athletics Championships 2009, which was held in May of that year.

In 2015, when Singapore hosted the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, it was the venue for the group stage matches of the football event. Later in the year, Japan national football team used the Bishan stadium as part of its training base ahead of their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification against Singapore.

In 2016, Argentina national football team used the stadium as part of its training base ahead of the friendly match against Singapore.

In 2018, it hosted two international football matches on 7 and 11 September, with Singapore facing the national football teams of Mauritius and Fiji respectively.

In 2019, Italian club, Juventus also used its training facilities as part of the 2019 International Champions Cup. One of the greatest football players of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo also trained at the Bishan stadium.  

Following the conclusion of the 2020 Singapore Premier League season, the Bishan Stadium pitch was closed for play as it underwent a returfing exercise.

With the pitch laying completed towards the end of 2021, the venue was then used for the 2020 AFF Championship and hosted most of the matches in Group B involving Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos and Cambodia. However, following the tournament, the pitch was declared as unplayable even though the turf had been freshly laid.

Lion City Sailors returned to the Bishan Stadium for the 2023 Singapore Premier League season after a 2 years hiatus.

Video Assistant Referee 
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology will feature for the first time in Singapore league history, starting from the upcoming 2023 season of the Singapore Premier League

Bishan Stadium have been retrofitted with remote cameras that relay the feeds back to the FAS headquarters in Jalan Besar which is operated centrally by a three-man team in the Production Control Room 2, which is the second such facility at the stadium. The VAR will have access to all the camera angles in the stadium and the Control Room can get these angles to check for any kind of situation from live speed to slow motion. New pitch-side camera systems that allow up to 40-time zoom have been installed, while network connectivity has been improved to deliver enhanced reliability and a smoother viewing experience. With VAR serving as extra pairs of eyes on the pitch, local football authorities hope to reduce bad refereeing calls, such as when a goal is wrongly disallowed for offside.

Transport

Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)
The stadium is located near Bishan MRT station on the North South line.

Bus
Buses 53, 410G/W arrives at the bus stop opposite at the stadium.

Sporting Events 

 2004, 2005, 2006 AFC Cup Group stage match 
 Asian Football Confederation U-17 championship
 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. Venue for the 35th Singapore Junior Athletics Championships 2009.
 2015 Southeast Asian Games, it was the venue for the group stage matches of the football event.
 2020 AFF Championship Group B.

International fixtures

2020 AFF Championship

See also
List of stadiums in Singapore

References

External links

Bishan Stadium (Facebook Page)

 

Buildings and structures in Bishan, Singapore
Football venues in Singapore
Multi-purpose stadiums in Singapore
Sports venues in Singapore
Venues of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
Lion City Sailors FC
Singapore Premier League venues
Tourist attractions in Central Region, Singapore
Sports venues completed in 1998
1998 establishments in Singapore
20th-century architecture in Singapore