Three provinces vying 2008 National Games

Three provinces vying 2008 National Games

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Central Java, East Kalimantan and South Sulawesi provinces were
in the running for the right to host the 2008 National Games
(PON), the National Sports Council (KONI) announced here on
Thursday.

The three candidates are expected to put their individual
cases at KONI's annual meeting, to be held in Jakarta on Jan. 30
and 31.

The meeting, to be attended by representatives of sports
organizations and KONI's provincial chapters, will be an
opportunity for the three hopeful candidates to promote their
bids.

KONI's spokesman, Ahmed Solihin, said that authorities from
the three provinces had each notified the organization of their
intention to mount a bid.

"East Kalimantan's bid committee members paid a visit to KONI
yesterday (Wednesday). We applaud their plan and expect them to
start preparing their facilities," Ahmed said.

He said that a final decision on the hosting of the 2008 PON
was likely to be made at the 2003 National Sports Convention,
where the appointment of a new KONI chairman would also be on the
agenda.

Central Java, with Semarang as its capital city, was in the
running to host the 2004 Games but was beaten out by South
Sumatra.

The last installment of the national sports tournament was
held in East Java with the host team coming out as the overall
winner, dethroning Jakarta, which had dominated the national
sporting scene for more than two decades.

The 2000 National Games also saw the country's sporting
showcase being staged outside Jakarta.

Central Java is now back in the hunt for hosting rights, with
its bid team set to utilize the psychological incentive that it
can't afford to lose for a second time.

The province, which boasts strength in track and field, has a
better record in the four-yearly national sporting showcase than
South Sulawesi and East Kalimantan.

Meanwhile, the South Sumatra capital of Palembang is gearing
up for the 2004 event with its plans to build a sports complex,
which will have a stadium as its centerpiece. The construction of
the stadium will begin next month.

The stadium will stand on a 40-hectare site in the Jakabering
area, according to Governor Rosihan Arsyad as reported by Antara
on Thursday.

Other facilities to be built next to the stadium include the
athletes' compound, a sports hall for gymnastics and squash and
another for badminton, roller-skating, archery and beach
volleyball.

Construction is expected to finish in early 2004.