Images: FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023
The FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup will return to the Singapore Sports Hub this week, with thousands of fans set to attend the event at the OCBC Square.
A covered, open space, the OCBC Square is located near the entrance of the main transport mode into the Sports Hub. It has hosted live screenings of the National Day Parade and FIFA World Cup, and also served as a fan zone during Singapore’s staging of the WTA Finals.
Last year, the OCBC Square hosted the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup for the first time and the event proved a huge success. Singapore has a deal with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to host the event until next year.
The 2024 event gets underway tomorrow (Wednesday) and runs until Sunday, and the Sports Hub is looking to build on the success of last year’s tournament.
“In 2023, we transformed the OCBC Square into a 3×3 basketball court that adhered to FIBA guidelines, complete with spectator bleachers,” Yazed Osman, group head of events and placemaking at Kallang Alive Sport Management, which operates the Sports Hub, tells TheStadiumBusiness.com.
“Working with the sheltered precinct space, we built from scratch the basketball court, the lighting truss, the bleachers and viewing deck. We received positive feedback from FIBA and our patrons and will bring the event back to the OCBC Square in 2024 – once again enabling spectators to watch international 3×3 basketball action at a unique venue that is accessible to all, and with a festival-like atmosphere.
“Through purposeful programming for FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, we also created multiple touchpoints to engage our patrons and the community. For the 2024 edition, we will expand our signature FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup learning journey programme to include more than 600 youths. They will visit designated event sites located across the Sports Hub, have the opportunity to interact with Team Singapore athletes and learn about sustainable practices in sport and at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup.”
Organisers will also introduce the JR Hoopers Programme, which will offer curated basketball experiences such as a one-day skill clinic and a two-day camp held from Friday to Sunday.
More than 150 young people from across four age groups (U11, U14, U15 and U17) will have the opportunity to take part, with the programme being conducted in partnership with the Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS).
Tournament merchandise will be sold on-site to build brand awareness of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, while food trucks and free-to-play community areas will contribute to the festival-like atmosphere organisers are seeking to create.
“One of the key prerequisites is the ability to run the competition smoothly,” adds Osman. “This includes setting up of a FIBA-approved 3×3 basketball competition court, basketballs with the correct air pressure, appropriate light lux levels for the field of play and broadcast as well as arranging for accommodation, transportation, nutrition and services such as laundry and physiotherapy for players and officials.”
The Singapore Sports Hub is a multi-purpose district that also includes the 55,000-seat National Stadium and the Singapore Indoor Stadium, where the WTA Finals were held from 2014 to 2018.
Other facilities at the Singapore Government-owned precinct include the OCBC Arena, Water Sports Centre and OCBC Aquatic Centre. Earlier this month, Singapore’s Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Edwin Tong, announced that the Singapore Indoor Stadium would make way for a new “best-in-class” arena.
Although the WTA Finals no longer take place at the Sports Hub, it has maintained its status as a major sports destination, hosting FIFA World Cup qualifiers and HSBC SVNS Singapore, a rugby sevens tournament. Recently, the Singapore National Stadium hosted six Taylor Swift concerts as part of the singer’s global Eras Tour.
In early April, the National Stadium will host a Bruno Mars concert before the HSBC SVNS event takes place from May 3-5. Upcoming events at the Singapore Indoor Stadium include the Singapore Badminton Open, gigs from the likes of Kelly Yu, IU and Niall Horan, and the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in September.
Next year, the Sports Hub will host the World Aquatics Championships, marking the first time the event has taken place in Southeast Asia. The event will bring together the six aquatic sports of swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open-water swimming and high diving.
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