DESPITE the gloomy world economy, a bright spot is looming on the horizon for Singapore sports.

The Government is understood to be considering more upgrades and changes to the various Youth Olympic Games competition venues - improvements that will bring these sports facilities a notch closer to internationally accepted standards.

'In these tough times... we want to demonstrate to the IOC our commitment to stage a memorable YOG.' MR TEO SER LUCK, Senior Parliamentary Secretary (MCYS)

It is understood organisers are keen to reiterate their commitment to the inaugural event for athletes aged between 14 and 18, despite the worsening economic outlook.

But the real winners will be sports enthusiasts who will inherit these high-quality public facilities after the August 2010 multi-sport event.

Some of the areas being looked at for improvement include the addition of more permanent seats at YOG venues, and the speeding up of the construction of a dedicated hockey stadium in Sengkang.

Hockey was to be staged at the ageing 17-year-old Delta pitch, but may now be moved to Sengkang.

Bishan Stadium is another venue that will be spruced up. The 3,000-seater, set to host athletics and football, was initially supposed to get a resurfaced running track and 7,000 temporary seats.

Now, these seats could be made permanent instead, boosting the 10-year-old stadium's capacity for S-League matches and other events.

So far, one confirmed change is the new artificial turf the Jalan Besar Stadium will get.

The new turf, which will be laid next year, will be of a higher grade. It will allow the ball's bounce and roll to resemble that on real grass more closely.

These improvements were not in the original plans submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) when the Republic put in its YOG bid last year.

They arose over the past few months.

Ever since Singapore was awarded the Games' hosting rights over Moscow in February, the IOC and international federations governing the respective sports have urged organisers to do more to spruce up some venues, some of which are more than 20 years old.

'In these tough times, people may be worried if we can still deliver,' said Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Community Development, Youth and Sports) Teo Ser Luck yesterday.

'But we want to demonstrate to the IOC our commitment to stage a memorable YOG.'

Under the initial plans, about US$6.87million (S$10.5 million) of the total US$75 million budget was to be allocated for upgrading works at the 18 existing venues. The figure is set to increase.

Mr Teo noted: 'While staying prudent, we'll do what is needed to meet the specifications and will not compromise on quality.'

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