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t the last minute, it was named as one of the soccer venues for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Then it was promised funding for preparation. And then it was told that it should pay its own expenses for that preparation and that use of the venue would count as a lease.

The Lebak Bulus Stadium in South Jakarta was appointed as a supporting soccer venue at the end of July. The stadium management was quick to carry out improvements to bring the venue up to international standards. However, the management received no money from the government for these upgrades.

“We have yet to receive funding from the SEA Games organizers, but we realize we must go on [preparing],” Lebak Bulus Stadium director Sri Wigiati told The Jakarta Post in September.

The management had earmarked half of the stadium’s Rp 2 billion (US$224,000) annual income for the overall maintenance of the 15-17,000 capacity arena.

Initially, the stadium’s management had waited for the Games to channel funds covering maintenance and upgrades, including installing air-conditioning (AC) units in the dressing rooms and procuring flood lights, but the organizers decided that the stadium should pay for its own expenses and that use of the venue would count as a lease.

With only five days before the stadium is scheduled to host its first match of the Games, it is still awaiting the delivery of AC units and IT and communications equipment for the medical center, press room and drug testing room.

The Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) secretary-general Tri Goestoro said that the stadium would be ready in time.

“Our main concern is with the lighting of the soccer field. Hopefully, all the bulbs will be installed by tomorrow. By Nov. 3, everything will be 100 percent ready,” he told the Post on Monday.

“If they [the organizers] don’t have that equipment ready by tomorrow [Tuesday], the PSSI will handle it,” he said.

A lack of coordination has also caused misinformation. The management of the stadium is uncertain about the schedule of Group B soccer matches.

When contacted on Monday, the management of the 15-17,000 capacity stadium said it was not aware that it would be hosting its first SEA Games soccer match this Saturday.

“We have the schedule, which says that the first match will be on Nov. 7, with Nov. 5 being for training only,” the stadium’s head of services Tatang Mochtar said, asking that the Post forward on the new schedule of the Games.

The SEA Games official website does not show the soccer match schedule, but the Asian Football Federation website (www.aseanfootball.org) showed that the stadium would host two Group B soccer matches on Saturday, one between Brunei Darussalam and Timor Leste and the other between Myanmar and Vietnam.

The stadium will host most of the Group B games. The first two Group B matches between Vietnam and the Philippines, and Laos and Myanmar, will be held at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan on Thursday.

The last Group B matches will be played on Nov. 17. The group comprises Vietnam, Laos, Brunei Darussalam, Timor Leste, the Philippines and Myanmar.