New turf for hockey pitch

By Tan Karr Wei
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/4/5/central/5986544&sec=central

HOCKEY players using the Petaling Jaya hockey stadium could look forward to a new turf soon with the RM2mil budget by the Petaling Jaya City Council.

StarMetro highlighted the bad shape of the pitch inside the stadium which was built in 1995.

Located along Jalan Selangor, the stadium is home to the MBPJ junior hockey development programme.

Still in use: The juniors may get injured training on the worn out turf at the PJ Hockey Stadium.

The MBPJ hockey team was also using the field as their home venue until the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) withheld its approval after inspecting the turf three years ago.

Parents of the young hockey players had also expressed displeasure at the turf condition and felt that it was time that the MBPJ looked into upgrading the stadium.

Citing the high cost of maintaining the stadium, the council had in early last year announced that the stadium could be turned into a multi-purpose sports complex catering for futsal and indoor hockey.

During the recent MBPJ full board meeting last week, councillor Derek Fernandez had again suggested for the stadium to be turned into a sports complex.

He said RM2mil was too high to spend on upgrading the turf in a stadium that was hardly used and that the council should instead consider privatisation, like how the Kelab Syabas swimming pool was operated.

By turning the stadium into a sports complex, Fernandez said Petaling Jaya would then have a complete facility that would also cater to other sports like futsal.

Bukit Gasing assemblyman Edward Lee, who was also present at the meeting, objected to the proposal and said there were many junior players and schools who used the stadium.

“My service centre is located there and I see people there every evening. I have even spoken to some of the parents and suggested that they give MBPJ a proposal on how they can work together with the council to manage the field,” said Lee.

He added that it was the council’s responsibility to provide facilities for the people and not focus on money-making ventures.

For the time being, the hockey players and their parents would just have to wait and see how long it would take before a proposal is tabled, a tender awarded and the RM2mil budget translated into a new pitch.