Asia

Kuala Lumpur Sports City chasing ‘Wembley experience’

Kuala Lumpur Sports City (KLSC) is gearing up for a revamp in order to create a ‘Wembley Stadium experience’ in the Malaysian city of Bukit Jalil.

The Malaysia Stadium Corporation (PSM) is reportedly set to team up with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to support the development, with an official announcement expected next month.

PSM chairman Tony Fernandes said, according to The Star Online: “Apart from hosting sporting events, we also want to hold big concerts and also international conferences at the Axiata Arena.

“In Wembley, concerts are only held mostly during summer when the weather is warm. As we have warm weather throughout the year we can do more than Wembley Stadium, but we need content.

“We have spent billions on this facility and we want to use it to create more income and more jobs through tourism and trade.”

Fernandes added that in order to create a ‘Wembley experience’ at the National Stadium, the organisations are looking to open a museum and launch stadium tours.

The KLSC, which was used during the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, includes the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Axiata Arena, and the National Hockey Stadium, among several other structures and amenities.

Through the partnership, it has been floated that the PSM is also in talks with FAM to make KLSC the official stadium of the Malaysian national team, according to PSM board member Radzi Tajuddin.

He said: “We are going to announce our partnership soon but we cannot disclose it at the moment. It might take a month, the idea is to make this the Wembley of Malaysia.”

Image: Alfianamy