England has Old Trafford in Manchester, Spain has the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Italy has the San Siro in Milan. What do these countries have in common? Their soccer stadiums have become tourist attractions, besides playing host to their excellence in soccer.

Even if you are not an avid Manchester United fan, you would not miss the opportunity to take selfies at Old Trafford, would you? Same goes when you are in Madrid or Milan. Or if you are in Los Angeles and have the chance to visit the Staples Arena, home to the LA Lakers, or the iconic Bird'€™s Nest in Beijing '€” the venue of the memorable 2008 Olympic Games.

Many clubs and city administrations are fully aware of the appeal of their respective stadia, which can attract visitors for a short tour and feel the atmosphere of the venue that hosted memorable matches.

For a huge city like Jakarta, Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan is not enough. Before and after the 100,000-seat stadium was built in the early 1960s, a few more stadiums were constructed to anticipate the growing popularity of sport. Unfortunately, two of them have been demolished to make way for public facilities.

In 2006, the Jakarta administration flattened then 86-year-old Menteng Stadium in Central Jakarta.

And just recently, Jakartans witnessed the demolition of Lebak Bulus Stadium in the south of the city.

While Menteng Stadium was transformed into a public park, Lebak Bulus Stadium will serve as the MRT train maintenance depot. A metropolis like Jakarta is, indeed, in dire need of an MRT system to facilitate people'€™s mobility '€” we are already 20 years overdue. Such mass transportation systems have been in place in neighboring countries for years, if not decades.

As the capital'€™s traffic worsens, MRT is undeniably the answer. But don'€™t we also need sports infrastructure?

Jakarta will host the 2018 Asian Games. It can, of course, share the hosting with other cities like Palembang in South Sumatra and Surabaya, whose stadiums can rival Jakarta'€™s. In fact, the last few editions of the Asian Games, the second-largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games, have been held in non-capital, less populated cities.

Lebak Bulus Stadium may not have been an option to be one of the venues for the Asian Games. However, its demolition hurt people who were emotionally linked to the stadium: the Jakmania, the loyal supporters of Jakarta-based Persija soccer club.

And they are not alone.

Lebak Bulus had the best squash court in the capital and squash players are among those devastated at losing their favorite playground.

The demolition had been planned since 2011, but was delayed because no replacement venue was available.

The demolition itself is a reminder of what happened to Menteng Stadium. Back in 2006, the late sports technocrat Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar, who chaired the National Committee for Physical Education and Sports at the Youth and Sports Ministry, criticized the government'€™s decision to tear down Menteng Stadium, deploring the '€œlack of vision in sports development'€.

He explained that sports development was a long-term program. And for a city as big as Jakarta '€” with five municipalities and one regency '€” Siregar said that ideally, the capital would need at least six sports centers, including a multipurpose field for track and field, soccer and other field games; a multipurpose hall for indoor sports; a swimming pool (for aquatic sports) and an open space for children and families.

The existing sports facilities in the city used to be located in rural areas, but as result of urban sprawl and changes in urban planning are no longer suitable or comfortable for sporting activities, as they are now located on busy streets where the level of pollution is high.

It will be a hard task for the Jakarta administration to build six sports centers. Not to mention the maintenance fees for those facilities.

There are many cities in the region that can serve as good examples of how to '€œcommercialize'€ sports venues to gain revenue while at the same time maintaining their function.

The Seoul World Cup Stadium, for example, has a mall and other commercial facilities that attract shoppers as well as sports enthusiasts.

Lebak Bulus Stadium may be a different case, as it will be converted into a train maintenance facility. However, the administration could have considered building another stadium in South Jakarta as a substitute.

The only central sports complex is the majestic Bung Karno Stadium. There may be fewer and fewer competitions taking place there, but its existence should be retained as a monument, as a reminder of the journey of Indonesia'€™s sports development.

Because we need a reminder of our glory days as a moral boost to perform better in the future. Sports can elevate national pride on the international stage.

Listening to the Jakmania story is saddening. For them, Lebak Bulus Stadium was more than just a soccer field. It was their home and the witness to their beloved team'€™s glory. What made them even sadder was that they did not have the chance to say goodbye in a proper way.

Both Menteng and Lebak Bulus stadiums were demolished without we Jakartans having the chance to say our last respects.

The ticket counters at Lebak Bulus stadium were emblazoned with '€œthe end'€“fitting, as it really was the end of the journey of a stadium.
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The writer is managing editor of The Jakarta Post.

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