City to move Senen sports hall to Kemayoran
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta
The city administration plans to relocate the Senen sports hall in Central Jakarta to Kemayoran, about five kilometers away, because its current location has become a crowded business district.
Jakarta Sports and Youth Agency head Yudhi Suyoto said at City Hall on Monday the current location of the sports hall, about 300 meters from the Senen market, was no longer ideal for sports activities.
"Therefore, we plan to move the sports hall to a better location," he said.
Yudhi declined to provide any details on the time frame for the relocation, the exact new location of the sports hall or plans for the sports hall's current venue.
"I do not know what the city has planned for the site of the Senen sports hall," he said.
The plan quickly received opposition from the City Council. Council deputy speaker Chudlary Syafi'i Hadzami said the Senen sports hall was still a viable option for residents.
"To date, many residents (in Central Jakarta), especially students, still use the sports hall for sports activities," he said. "If the administration plans to move the sports hall to a new location, it must ask for the council's approval."
However, Chudlary said the council would reject the plan because the sports agency had not offered any details on what the Senen site would be used for following the move.
The administration raised the possibility in 2000 of trading the Senen sports hall with a 1.8 hectare plot of land in Kemayoran, which was owned by an unnamed private company.
The council approved the plan, but the deal was shelved because the sports hall stands on land owned by state railway company PT KAI. The land has been on loan to the administration since August 1974, during the tenure of governor Ali Sadikin.
The Jakarta Post observed on Monday that the area in front of the sports hall was packed with street vendors, whose stalls almost completely blocked access to the hall.
There is a similar story playing out in North Jakarta, where the municipal administration wants to convert the Pluit sports hall into a business district.
The Pluit sports hall -- comprising Sasana Krida I and Sasana Krida II -- has been open since 1982. Sasana Krida I is owned by the Pluit subdistrict office, and Sasana Krida II is owned by city-run developer PT Jakarta Propertindo.
North Jakarta Mayor Effendy Anas, however, refused to comment on the situation when stopped by reporters at City Hall.
The administration earlier raised the possibility of opening a minimarket, a beauty parlor and a boutique in the Bulungan Youth Sports Complex in South Jakarta to help the sports complex achieve financial self-sufficiency. However, sports agency head Yudhi dismissed the plan, saying the complex should be used exclusively for sports and arts activities.
Most sports stadiums across the capital are in poor condition due to financial constraints that limit their maintenance.