In the buildup to stage the FIBA World Cup basketball championship in 2023, Indonesia plans to build one or more lavish indoor stadiums that meet the international body’s standards, the sports minister said.

Indonesia, along with Japan and the Philippines, won the bid in 2017 to co-organize the 2023 championship, which is the first FIBA World Cup multi-host event.

“We need to build one or more venues that meet with the [FIBA] requirements, which include having a minimum of 10,000 seats. At the moment, we don’t have one,” said Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali after attending a Cabinet meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, as quoted by Antara.

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FIBA requires a venue that has up to 8,000 seats for the cup.

“We have Istora [Senayan indoor stadium] that, after a re-adjustment, can only manage 5,000 seats maximum,” said Zainudin, referring to the venue that is located in the Gelora Bung Karno sporting complex in Central Jakarta.

The Istora stadium is a regular venue for the annual top-tier Indonesia Open badminton tournament.

Zainudin said the plan for the new venues was discussed with the Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) and the Public Works and Housing Ministry.

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The expected new venue is to be located in Jakarta, which is in line with Japan’s Okinawa and Philippines’ Manila venues.

“We need to immediately decide on the exact site, specifically in Jakarta and on state land,” said the minister, adding that the Jokowi administration was still working on a presidential regulation on organizing the quadrennial event. (nkn)