Petaling Jaya City Council should consider selling naming rights to save PJ Hockey Stadium

QNet, a long-time Selangor Hockey Association (SHA) supporter, has not ruled out the possibility of ‘adopting’ the Petaling Jaya Hockey Stadium.

Completed in 1995, the stadium was popular among teams and fans due to its accessibility and location in the heart of the Selangor city.

However, it is now a white elephant with no hockey matches at the venue for the past three years despite SHA’s best efforts to engage with Petaling Jaya City Council, which owns the venue.

Asked if QNet – which has a history of helping communities and sports development – would consider adopting the stadium, its group regional general manager (Southeast Asia) B. Pushpalatha said: “There is no proposal at the moment, but it is something we can consider.”

“It’s not about one company doing it, but spreading the news and allowing more people to use the stadium.

“Sports is one way to build people. We’ve done some development work for hockey, like the Tamil schools’ junior tournament, so we are used to organising events to help communities.”

If QNet adopts the stadium, it could pay the city council for the naming rights and use the venue for its hockey development projects. It could also allow SHA to run the venue to organise matches for the Selangor Hockey League – where it is one of the title sponsors.

SHA president, S. Ganesh, said he had considered asking a sponsor to collaborate with the association to pitch a similar idea to the local council.

Ganesh hopes the new Petaling Jaya Mayor, Mohamad Zahri Samingon, who took office on Feb 1, will be receptive to the idea.

“I don’t know why the city council has not upgraded the venue. Perhaps there is a lack of funds,” said Ganesh.

“If we can get a partner to pay for the naming rights, that would help pay for the stadium’s maintenance.

“Petaling Jaya City Council will still be the owner, but it wouldn’t have to worry about the venue. Let us run it for them. We can ensure the venue is not under-utilised.”

SHA could generate revenue from renting the stadium and from the parking lot. Alternatively, the city council could still oversee the parking bays.

Ganesh added that besides the Petaling Jaya Hockey Stadium, SHA could also approach the Klang Royal City Council about the availability of the Pandamaran Stadium.

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