New Stadium Development Plan in Makassar, Hope Not Just a Promise

Gelora BJ Habibie Stadium in Parepare City, South Sulawesi, is set to witness the match between PSM Makassar and Persebaya Surabaya on Friday evening (7/3/2025). This continuation of Liga 1 is eagerly awaited by many as it marks PSM's return to South Sulawesi.

Previously, for more than the past two years, the team nicknamed "Juku Eja" had been based at Batakan Stadium, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. Therefore, tomorrow's Friday match seems to be a long-awaited moment for PSM supporters to witness their beloved team play live.

It's no surprise that posts related to PSM's match in Parepare are flooding social media. Phrases such as "Get ready to break your fast and have suhoor on the road," "On the way to Parepare," "Turn Parepare red," and many others are filling social media. WhatsApp groups are equally lively.

PSM Makassar Media Official, Sulaiman Karim, stated that starting tomorrow, Friday, PSM will be based in Parepare. "Not just for this match, but also for the upcoming matches as long as the stadium in Makassar is unavailable," he said.

For PSM, returning to Parepare as their base is essentially also considered "temporary." This is because, as its name suggests, PSM is a club originating from Makassar. For a long time, this club has used Mattoangin Stadium in Makassar as its training ground and venue for hosting opponents.

However, over the past few years, PSM has been unable to play at that stadium. As a result, the oldest football club in Indonesia has had to become a "wanderer," moving from one stadium to another outside Makassar.

The situation began when Mattoangin Stadium was demolished in October 2020. At that time, the stadium, which was first used for the 4th National Sports Week (PON) in 1957, was dismantled until it was leveled to the ground.

The Governor of South Sulawesi at that time, Nurdin Abdullah, had a desire to revitalize Mattoangin Stadium to be bigger and of international standard. Before being demolished, the stadium revitalization plan was already complete. Based on the plan, Mattoangin Stadium was said to have an area of 60,000 square meters with a capacity of up to 40,000 seats.

A budget of Rp 1.3 trillion was then allocated through a National Economic Recovery (PEN) fund loan. However, before the construction of the stadium had even begun, Nurdin was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The arrest stalled the Mattoangin Stadium construction plan. Currently, the former stadium building has turned into a puddle.

Since Mattoangin Stadium was demolished, PSM moved its headquarters to Parepare. However, about two years ago, Gelora BJ Habibie Stadium in Parepare was renovated so that PSM had to be based at Batakan Stadium. For two years, PSM supporters had to be satisfied with just watching their favorite team's matches on television.

President Joko Widodo's visit to Makassar on Thursday (22/2/2024) brought a glimmer of hope for the presence of a stadium in Makassar. Through the Acting Governor of South Sulawesi Bahtiar Baharuddin at that time, President Jokowi promised the construction of a stadium in Makassar. The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) was appointed to work on the project.

"So far, there have been aspirations from the people of South Sulawesi who want to have a stadium. We have reported to the President. Actually, we have also proposed it since last year. Earlier, the President promised that this year the stadium would be built by the PUPR Ministry," said Bahtiar, Thursday (22/2/2024).

The promise of the stadium construction was not to continue the construction of Mattoangin Stadium which had been razed to the ground. At that time, the new stadium was promised to be built in the Sudiang area, Makassar. However, until now, the promise of the stadium construction is still unclear.

Previously, when Syahrul Yasin Limpo served as Governor of South Sulawesi, a stadium was built in the Barombong area, Makassar. However, budget constraints and land issues that were partly unresolved caused the construction of the stadium to stall.

In response to the never-ending stadium controversy, the newly inaugurated Mayor of Makassar, Munafri Arifuddin, promised to build a new stadium. The former Chief Executive Officer of PSM said that the new stadium would likely be built on land owned by the Makassar City Government in the Untia area, Makassar.

The construction of the stadium in the new location was chosen because the land of Mattoangin Stadium belongs to the South Sulawesi Provincial Government. On the other hand, Munafri said, the new stadium is expected not to be built with the Makassar Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD), but through cooperation with third parties.

"The stadium issue is one of our main programs. For that, we will first ensure the assets owned by the Makassar City Government in Untia. We have also talked to third parties. The hope is that this stadium will not be built with APBD funds. So it can be an innovative investment that is present in Makassar City," said Munafri.

The man who is familiarly called Appi promised that in the near future there will be potential investors coming to Makassar.

Munafri said that to build a stadium with a capacity of 20,000-25,000 spectators, a budget of around IDR 400 billion to IDR 500 billion is needed.

"But there are several stadiums that are built with smaller capacities and can be cheaper," he said.

The hope is that this stadium will not be built with APBD funds. So it can be an innovative investment that is present in Makassar City.

Munafri explained that there are four stadiums in Thailand that can be used as a comparison. The stadiums were built in approximately one year with a capacity of 30,000 people and cost around Rp 250 billion.

"But I think this can be further reduced. What is clear is that it must be of international standard with a capacity of over 20,000 spectators," said Munafri.

Unlike previous promises, the promise of building a new stadium in Makassar this time is expected to be realized soon. No longer just a discourse and leaving stalled construction that makes PSM unable to be based in its hometown.