Sports center plans rebuild

Sports center plans rebuild

• Source: Global Times
• [10:14 March 09 2011]
• Comments

People play ball at Dongdan Sports Center Tuesday. Photo: Wang Zi

By Zhang Hui

As the Dongdan Sports Center, in Dongcheng district, plans to demolish and rebuild on its original spot to update the 15-year-old facility, experts criticize the project as neither eco-friendly nor necessary.

"We're planning to rebuild the center, and have invited some experts to advise on the feasibility of the project," an operation department official surnamed Ma at the center told the Global Times Tuesday.

Completed in 1996 and designed for use by primary and middle school level sports academies, the complex's outdated equipment and limited services have not been able to meet the demands of the increasing amount of white-collar workers who now frequent the center, according to Ma.

"Parking space is far from enough, and visitors can't even take showers after a workout," Ma said, adding that although many companies and organizations hold sports events at the center, the center is not even equipped with ample seating.

The center has only undergone minor renovations, such as new flooring for indoor stadiums and updated locker rooms since 1996, Ma said.

Guangdong Development Bank will invest 1 billion yuan ($152 million) in the project, which will help expand the sports center from 40,000 to 200,000 square meters and create 1,000 additional parking spaces.

Authorities at the center and nearby offices of the Guangdong Development Bank are jointly applying for the demolition, according to Beijing Evening News.

"If they doubled its number of stadiums and built parking garages under the basketball and soccer stadiums, the demolition wouldn't be necessary," Tu Ya, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) and professor of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, told the Beijing Evening News.

Tu believed the center has the potential to cater to local residents, and the city has plenty of sports stadiums and gyms in other districts.

Li Xun, secretary-general of the Chinese Society for Urban Studies, echoed Tu in saying many buildings built less than 20 years ago, have been needlessly demolished in order to expand business, which is both a great waste of building materials and not environmentally friendly.