Jakarta needs more public sports facilities
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Instead of converting the Menteng soccer field into a park, the city administration should build more public sporting facilities as existing stadiums and sports centers were inadequate to serve the growing population in the capital, experts say.
The city, home to around nine million people, has only five big stadiums, most of them found in East and South Jakarta, in addition to one sports center in each of its 45 subdistricts.
"It is inadequate to serve its residents. Cities like Bangkok and Manila, which have similar characteristics with Jakarta, have more sports facilities than this city, which not only pleases their residents but also boosts the country's sports achievements," said urban sociologist Gumilar Somantri Rusliwa Somantri.
The city administration has decided to turn the Menteng Soccer Field in Central Jakarta into a city park complete with jogging tracks and cafes, but noted public figures and experts have opposed the move, suspecting that it was merely a disguise attempt to convert the historical site into a business complex.
The conversion decision was taken despite the fact that the city severely lacks open public sports centers. Furthermore, the few existing sports centers are not adequately equipped with sport facilities.
The Kembangan sports center in West Jakarta, for example, provides only three badminton fields that attract only around 60 people in a month.
"A lot of people have asked for basketball and volley ball courts, and I submitted the request to the Sports Agency at the Jakarta administration last year. But, I haven't have any answer yet," said Sabur Mandala, the manager of the sports center.
Sabur told The Jakarta Post that with an average of Rp 1 million to Rp 2 million monthly maintenance budget given by the administration, he could do nothing to improve facilities in the building.
He also said that nothing could be done to attract people to come and opening cafes or shops was not considered unprofitable.
"It is too far from anywhere; who'd want to do their shopping or eat here?," he said.
In the end, the facility is often used as a meeting hall to facilitate events held by Kembangan district officials.
On the other hand, the East Jakarta stadium succeeds in attracting people because it offers a swimming pool, a basketball court, a volleyball court, an auditorium, and even a modeling agency and dancing lessons.
Residents around the East Jakarta Stadium on Jl. Otto Iskandar Dinata said that the stadium plays an important role because it not only providing facilities for exercise but is also a place where youngsters can develop their creativity.
Last Friday morning, for example, hundreds of elementary students thronged the swimming pool while dozens of junior high school students were preparing themselves for a traditional pencak silat martial arts competition held in the indoor basket ball court.
"Aside from swimming and volley ball, my daughter also took Javanese dance and pencak silat courses at the stadium. We need more of these kinds of facilities so that other residents can use them," said Mrs. Lina, whose house is only 100 meters from the stadium.
Data from the city administration's website, www.dki.go.id, suggests that until 2000, the city only had one facility for athletic, baseball, shooting, and hockey. (006)