Singapore sports industry crossed $1 billion mark in 2007, earlier than previously reported

By Les Tan/Red Sports

Vivian Balakrishnan

Sports minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan addressing business leaders, taking the opportunity to highlight Singapore’s growing sports industry. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)

F1 Pit Building, Wednesday, March 18, 2009 – For those working in the Singapore sports industry, it came as a pleasant surprise when sports minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan announced that the Singapore sports industry hit $1 billion in 2007 rather than 2008, as earlier reported.

“The value of our sports industry passed the $1 billion mark in 2007,” said Dr Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, at the 2009 CEO Gala hosted by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC). Over 100 corporate leaders attended the CEO networking session.

Despite the gloomy economic climate, the projections for the Singapore sports industry remain unchanged, according to the minister.

“Notwithstanding the current economic crisis, we are still aggressively working towards a $2 billion GDP contribution by the sports industry by 2015, along with the goal of creating 20,000 sports-related jobs,” he said.

Singapore will host the first Asian Youth Games and the Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup in 2009 while the inaugural Youth Olympic Games is scheduled for 2010. The F1 will remain a fixture on the Singapore sports calendar, reassured Dr Balakrishnan.

The inaugural ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is also slated to tip off in September 2009 and the Singapore Slingers, a professional team that played in the Australian National Basketball League, will reinvent itself as an Asian team to play in the ABL.

Singapore now has a major sporting event every month, a fact addressed by Oon Jin Teik, the chief executive officer of the SSC.

“Our premium events in 2008 alone generated more than $40 million in local publicity, and the international figures are exponentially greater,” said Mr Oon.

“In today’s economic climate, sports and business are, more than ever, in a position to help each other maximise the return on our investments,” he added.

Despite the delays stemming from the uncertain economic climate, the Singapore Sports Hub remains on the cards while the SSC will call for a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Changi Motorsports Hub by the end of this month.

“The SSC has spent the last few months refining the project specifications to make it a more compelling and attractive product for potential investors. Despite the current economic climate, potential investors have expressed positive interest in bidding for the project,” said Mr Oon.

In the wider Asia Pacific region, a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report in 2008 forecast a growth of 6.5% per year to an estimated US$17.7 billion in 2011.