The Tote Board is seeking ideas to transform 133ha site in Kranji into an integrated leisure destination
Singapore’s only horse-racing club is looking to expand beyond being a racecourse to becoming a lifestyle destination with recreational facilities for the whole family.
The 177-year-old Singapore Turf Club (STC) in Kranji sits on 133ha of land, which is about the size of 166 football fields. The race track alone is about 34ha.
The Tote Board, which governs the STC, issued a request for information (RFI) last Monday to seek ideas on how to transform the club into an integrated leisure destination. This could include themed attractions, community parks, accommodation and retail spaces.
A Tote Board spokesman told The Straits Times last Friday that the purpose of the RFI is to invite market interests, both locally and internationally, for the project.
The RFI says the board is looking for companies with “design skills and creative practices in architecture, landscape architecture, master planning and urban design, experiential concept master planning and design, parks and open space design and transport planning”.
The RFI, which will close on Nov 4, also makes clear that the racecourse will not be scrapped. “While the racecourse will continue to operate, the plan is not to promote horse-racing activities, but to re-imagine how the racecourse land and its existing facilities can be rationalised, replanned and optimised such that the remainder of the site can be redeveloped into an integrated and extraordinary leisure destination with unique offerings and attractions.”
Plans to transform the club into a lifestyle destination first surfaced in 2017 when STC chief executive Chong Boo Ching took charge of the club amid declining finances. In the last decade, the STC’s annual gaming revenues fell from $2 billion to $1.2 billion.
Industry experts said it was about time the club took concrete steps to change and that possible attractions could include a riding school, a farmer’s market, rock climbing facilities or a local version of Bangkok’s Chatuchak market.
Said Dr Harvey Neo, head of programmes at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at Singapore University of Technology and Design: “I’m surprised it has taken them so long to revamp. The turf club is a highly under-utilised space. It’s only really active during the weekends and other times it is just dead space that is not optimised.”
Races are held on selected Fridays, Sundays and public holidays of each month. Guests must be 18 years old and above to enter the racecourse on race days.
Dr Neo suggested the club could capitalise on the crowds of people who are attracted to existing nature-themed attractions in the area, including Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, the Kranji marshes and nature trail, and the Singapore Zoo.
“I’m thinking maybe there could be a riding school or other outdoor sporting activities like rock climbing. That would be attractive to children and families,” he said.
Mr Chew Kian Beng, course chair for the diploma in hospitality and tourism management at Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Business, suggested that the space could be used as a marketplace to support local entrepreneurs. “This could be done by charging minimally so that young entrepreneurs can pursue their passions. Something like Chatuchak market in Bangkok.”
But the experts also said that the club could find it difficult to shed its current image while trying to rebrand itself. Said Dr Neo: “One of the challenges is that the races are on the weekends and this is when the club would also want to attract families. So they would have to make a clear distinction between the gambling area, where those under 18 would not be able to enter, and the other areas for all ages.”
Ms Regina Yeo, adjunct senior lecturer of marketing at the National University of Singapore’s Business School, said: “The perception now is that the Turf Club has nothing exciting for families or young people. It is not a place that comes to mind as a destination venue when friends want to meet and catch up.”
But Dr Neo felt this could be changed with the right marketing.
“Source:[Turf Club looks beyond racing for revamp] © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction”
