My Dinh Stadium, once the pride of Vietnamese sports , is now in serious disrepair - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH
Recently, on April 3-4, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism , Nguyen Van Hung, to urgently direct research and develop a plan for exploiting the My Dinh National Stadium.
Ensuring efficient utilization, avoiding waste and degradation, a report must be submitted to the Prime Minister before April 15, 2025. This is the second time in the past two years that the Prime Minister has had to speak out about the state of sports facilities, including My Dinh Stadium.
Million-dollar project
My Dinh Stadium is located within the National Sports Complex in Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi. It is one of the most modern sports facilities in Vietnam. Inaugurated and put into operation in 2003, the stadium has a capacity of approximately 40,000 spectators, with a construction cost of around $53 million at the time.
My Dinh Stadium has hosted two SEA Games, in 2003 and 2022. It has also been the venue for important international matches of the national men's football team.
The National Sports Complex (the complex) is a public service unit under the Department of Physical Education and Sports. Before 2012, the complex relied on the state budget, receiving approximately 10 billion VND annually. From 2012 to the present, the complex has been granted 100% financial autonomy by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
To become self-sufficient, the complex leases land and services to pay staff salaries and maintain the facilities. However, during the process of achieving financial autonomy, the complex committed numerous serious violations.
In 2021, the Government Inspectorate announced the conclusions of a comprehensive inspection regarding compliance with legal regulations on the management and use of land and public assets at the complex.
This was an unscheduled inspection conducted at the direction of the Prime Minister. In its conclusion, the Government Inspectorate pointed out a series of serious violations, with the amount of money involved reaching nearly 777 billion VND. Two cases of violations have been transferred to the investigative agency.
Over the years, the Hanoi Tax Department has repeatedly enforced invoice seizures and frozen accounts of the complex due to this enormous debt. Unable to repay the debt, the complex's outstanding debt has continued to increase due to late payments.
The complex's tax debt as of 2024 has reached approximately 1,000 billion VND, and the unit has repeatedly sent letters to relevant authorities stating that it is completely unable to pay.
Deeply in debt, severely dilapidated infrastructure.
Despite being inaugurated in 2003, My Dinh Stadium has never undergone any major renovations. There is also a lack of funding for maintenance, resulting in the persistent public complaints over the years about the deteriorating condition of the pitch, functional rooms, and equipment.
In 2009, the track at My Dinh Stadium began to deteriorate, causing the national athletics championships to be canceled there for many years. However, it wasn't until 2016 that a track renovation project was finally completed, albeit slowly, in early 2020.
The turf at My Dinh Stadium, in particular, was replaced in 2011 after 14 years of deterioration, which was always a nightmare whenever teams came to play there.
In December 2024, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) was unable to register My Dinh Stadium as the home ground for the Vietnamese national team in the ASEAN Cup because the pitch did not meet the required standards. The national team subsequently moved to Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho province to play.
In 2022, the sports complex received 408 billion VND from the government for repairs and equipment purchases to serve the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam. However, only about 150 billion VND was allocated for repairing My Dinh Stadium. Given the comprehensive deterioration of My Dinh Stadium, this amount is negligible.
As a result, after the SEA Games 31, My Dinh Stadium remained dilapidated, leaking, and with poor-quality turf. In 2025, because the My Dinh Stadium pitch was still not repaired, the VFF continued to move the national team to Binh Duong Stadium for Asian Cup qualifiers and international friendly matches.
Previously, in documents sent to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the complex had repeatedly requested that the outstanding tax debt of approximately 1,000 billion VND, which it was unable to pay, be written off.
This enormous debt accumulated between 2009 and 2018, during the period when Mr. Can Van Nghia (now retired) was the director of the complex. Currently, each business contract of the complex requires an 8% payment to settle the tax debt owed to the State.
However, since 2023, the Ministry of Finance has issued a document confirming that there is no basis for writing off the debt or calculating late payment penalties for the 941.7 billion VND owed by the complex.
The Ministry of Finance stated that, according to the provisions of the Tax Administration Law regarding cases where tax debts can be written off, the complex does not fall under the category of cases eligible for tax debt write-off and exemption from late payment penalties.
The last time the grass at My Dinh Stadium was replaced was in 2011 - Photo: K.XUAN
What is the solution for My Dinh Stadium?
Despite being a multi-million dollar project, My Dinh Stadium has been a real nightmare for teams playing there and for fans attending matches for many years. On March 30th, the coaches of The Cong - Viettel and Hoang Anh Gia Lai teams affirmed that with the terrible quality of the pitch, playing at My Dinh Stadium easily leads to injuries for players.
Speaking to Tuoi Tre newspaper, a leader of the Department of Physical Education and Sports said that the budget is expected to allocate 8 billion VND by mid-year to replace the turf at My Dinh Stadium after 14 years of use. Hopefully, the new turf will resolve this issue.
Mr. Nguyen Trong Ho, director of the complex, said that the complex has faced many difficulties in recent years due to a huge tax debt that it is unable to repay. As a 100% self-financing public service unit, if the complex is not allowed to diversify its facilities for rental purposes, it will be difficult to generate revenue for operations and infrastructure maintenance.
Mr. Ho said: "In 2021, the complex submitted a plan for exploiting public assets to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which was approved by the Ministry in 2023. However, there are some obstacles that make implementation very difficult, such as most leased items only being contracted for one year."
"Due to the very short timeframe, it was difficult to work with major partners; the scope for business development was limited, making it hard to attract investors; and although there was a lot of vacant land in the complex, the existing mechanisms prevented its development."
Earlier in 2021, the complex also submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism regarding the use of public assets for collaborative purposes, but this proposal remains pending and has yet to receive a response.
Following Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's directive on April 3, 2025, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism must urgently find solutions to utilize My Dinh Stadium, helping the unit overcome difficulties in achieving financial self-sufficiency.
This will also provide additional funding for maintenance and repair, limiting the serious deterioration of the facility. According to Tuoi Tre newspaper's research, the total revenue of the complex in 2024 is approximately 30 billion VND, while the actual needs are around 70-80 billion VND.
The authority rests with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Recently, on February 27, 2025, Deputy Minister of Finance Bui Van Khang signed a document responding to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism regarding the use of public assets for joint ventures and partnerships of the National Sports Complex.
In this document, the Ministry of Finance affirms that: Ministers and heads of central agencies decide or delegate the authority to approve projects for the use of assets at public non-profit organizations under their management for joint ventures and partnerships to the heads of agencies and units under the ministry or central agency, or the heads of public non-profit organizations.
The requirement to obtain written opinions from the Ministry of Finance regarding proposals for the use of public assets at public non-profit organizations for joint ventures and partnerships has been removed.
Based on the above regulations, the Ministry of Finance stated that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is the unit responsible for directing the use of public assets of the National Sports Complex in accordance with the law.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sao-the-my-dinh-oi-2025040422160796.htm
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