An authority told Tuoi Tre Sunday that the 10ha Thanh Long Sports Center in Ho Chi Minh City is soon to be handed over to a banking tycoon for management.
The source which wanted anonymity said there will be a change in the management board at the Thanh Long Culture and Sports Services Limited Liability Company which currently manages the Center in Binh Chanh district.
Tuoi Tre contacted the center's current owner - Mr. Quach Thanh Lai, nicknamed Hung who spent around VND150 billion (US$7.7 million) building the Center in 2001.
But Hung said he had no information to reveal to the press for now.
However, the anonymous businessman told Tuoi Tre that he and Hung have signed a memo about transferring the center.
“We haven’t signed the final negotiation, but it is expected to be done at the end of this month”.
He said that if the transfer is successful and he is the new boss, he would keep the center unchanged.
“But it’s hard to say anything about the future as I have no experience about sports”, the source added.
One year ago, the center was supposed to be transferred to the city Culture, Sports and Tourism Department but the department had little interest because it wanted to encourage private enterprises to invest in sports.
The reason for the transfer was cited as Hung’s poor health condition.
Thanh Long Center consists of four football fields including one with a dome and international-standard lighting system for night matches. In addition, the center has four mini artificial grass pitches, one pool and four tennis courts.
It also boasts one 1,200-seat theatre, 6 restaurants, four 3-star hotels with 180 rooms and other entertainment facilities.
Many international competitions have been held here including U-20 ASEAN 2007 and Asia Female Qualifier 2008.
