To the horror of Kedah football fans, news emerged last week that the iconic Stadium Darul Aman has been scheduled to be demolished in order to make way for a new development project on the site of the stadium.
The new development project is to encourage residential, work, and recreational activities, all in the same area. Apart from housing new amenities and a vast parking space, the new stadium is also supposed to accommodate a bigger crowd of 60,000 to 100,000 people.
Needless to say, the plan received backlash from both football fans and the Kedah opposition party.
So is the stadium going down or not?
President of Kedah’s Youth and Sports committee, Datuk Aminuddin Omar has denied that the Darul Aman stadium is going to be demolished.
“It is not going to be demolished, it will undergo an upgrade process based on the 30-year development plan laid out by the Alor Setar Municipal Council (MBAS).” Datuk Aminuddin told Berita Harian.
“Although, I can’t be completely sure if the stadium is going to be torn down, but I’m quite sure that it’s not going to happen.” he added.
Traffic congestion is quite an issue
“The new stadium will, however, address a lot problems, especially the congestion issue.” Datuk Aminuddin said.
Datuk Aminuddin clarified that traffic congestion gets really bad every time there is a match at the stadium. Since the stadium is located nearby housing areas, MBAS has also received complaints that the residents are not happy about cars parked every where around their houses.
Although the Darul Aman stadium is in dire need of a makeover, the Kedah state government have been urged not to demolish a stadium that is rich with history and fond memories.
Kedah won the “double treble” there in 2008, where they were crowned Super League champions, FA Cup champions and Malaysia Cup champions.
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