It was interesting to read that an unprecedented four Singapore Premier League (SPL) clubs will be sharing Jalan Besar Stadium in the new SPL season (Teams raise training and logistics concerns about sharing Jalan Besar Stadium, April 19).

Football clubs and sports clubs sharing stadiums is nothing new.

The San Siro in Milan, Italy, is arguably the most well-known shared stadium, being the home of fierce Serie A Derby della Madonnina rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan. 

Major League Soccer team, New York City FC, shares a home stadium with Major League Baseball side, New York Yankees, in the famous Yankee Stadium.

To spread out the load so that no single stadium is shared by too many SPL clubs and to bring football to more neighbourhood stadiums, perhaps it would be worth exploring the idea of holding SPL matches in other stadiums such as the ones at Queenstown and Clementi.

During the time of the semi-professional National Football League, football matches were played in makeshift stadiums like Tanglin Pitch and Geylang Stadium to sell-out crowds.

This arrangement would allow more time to turn over and maintain existing SPL home stadiums, and reduce challenges for scheduling and logistics resulting from stadium sharing.

At the same time, it would bring benefits such as a vibrant football atmosphere to these stadiums and their surrounding neighbourhoods on match days.

Food trucks selling snacks, drinks and dessert could also ply their goods on matchdays to add to the carnival atmosphere, with pre-match and half-time activities for adults and children to make it an event that’s fun for the whole family.

Playing SPL matches in more stadiums could help to maximise the use of stadiums, and also be an innovative way to dovetail with the national Unleash the Roar football development project by improving outreach to the heartland, and enhancing engagement with fans and supporters of Singapore football.

Woon Wee Min