Burma’s impressive China-built complex won’t stay idle for long

NAYPYITAW—By the time the last foreign contingent leaves this city, the sprawling Wunna Theikdi Sports Complex could turn into a vast ghost town.

But host Burma (Myanmar) won’t let that happen.

Sitting on what was once a 20-hectare rice field, the sports complex—built using a multimillion-dollar donation from the Chinese government—will be converted into a sports university.

“Stadiums built for use in the Southeast Asian Games will later house a sports university, and candidates for the university will be chosen from among students as young as Grade 9,” said U Ye Htut, a deputy minister at the Ministry of Information.

Filipino sports officials were green with envy as they marveled at the venues within the complex, which could easily house 20 sports training centers.

“I wish we could built a sports complex that big at home,” said Philippine Olympic Committee secretary general Steve Hontiveros.

The POC has a plan to put up a sports facility at either Clark Field in Pampanga or Antipolo City but the groundwork for these projects hasn’t taken off yet.

The 30,000-seater Wunna Theikdi Stadium stands as a monument to Burma’s success in hosting the just-concluded 27th SEA Games.

“It will be hard [for us] to match the hosting of Myanmar,” said chef de mission Jeff Tamayo. “We have to raise the bar if we want to surpass it.”

Next to the massive structure, similar to the floor area of Beijing’s Bird’s Nest, are three huge indoor stadiums, an indoor swimming and diving pool, archery field and venues for tennis, futsal, billiards and boxing.

Burma sports officials said they will also use the facilities as venues for national-level competitions for several sports.